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EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 


EDUCATION   BY 
LIFE 

A  Discussion  o{  the  Problem  of  the  School 
Education  of  Younger  Children 


"?,  y  A,  y  g 

BY    VARIOUS    WRITERS 


Edited  by 

HENRIETTA    BROWN    SMITH 

Lecturer  in  Education,  Goldsmiths'  College, 
University  of  London 


It  is  life  that  educates," — Pcstalozzi, 


SECOND  EDITION. 


BALTIMORE  Md. 
WARWICK    &    YORK,    INC. 

1914. 


PREFACE 

The  idea  of  this  book  was  conceived  and  the  original  plain 
was  drawn  up  by  Miss  M.  M.  Penstone,  in  the  summer  of 
1910  ;  and  only  her  death  in  December  of  that  year  prevented 
her  carrying  it  out ;  but  it  was  her  strong  wish  that  it  should 
be  finished,  and  she  asked  the  present  Editor  to  undertake 
the  task.  Her  plan  has  been  adhered  to,  as  far  as  circum- 
stances have  permitted,  and  the  Editor's  belief  is  that  the 
general  spirit  of  the  book  is  what  Miss  Penstone  would  have 
desired  it  to  be. 

The  various  contributing  writers  have  all  been  selected  on 
the  basis  of  wide  practical  experience,  as  well  as  for  more 
individual  reasons  ;  and  the  Editor  has  left  them  free  to 
express  their  own  views  on  the  applications  of  their  work. 

There  are  two  points  which  may  strike  readers  of  the  book 
as  requiring  some  explanation. 

(i)  As  the  book  is  the  combined  product  of  a  number  of 
minds,  the  views  put  forward  may  not  always  exactly  coin- 
cide, in  the  application  of  a  principle,  or  in  its  adjustment  to 
difficult  conditions. 

(2)  As  education  by  life  must  be  a  complete  thing,  rather 
than  a  collection  of  subjects,  overlapping  must  be  expected 
in  connection  with  the    different  aspects  treated. 

Both  these  things  are  inevitable  and  even  desirable. 

The  intention  of  the  book  is  to  gather  together  some  of 

V 


Ti  PREFACE 

the  most  important  principles  concerning  early  education, 
that  have  stood  the  test  of  time  and  experience,  and  to  appyl 
them  to  modern  conditions  and  in  the  light  of  modern  know- 
ledge, but  with  the  intention  of  giving  a  point  of  view,  rather 
than  of  formulating  definite  method. 

The  bibhography  attached  to  most  of  the  chapters  should 
form  a  background  and  amplify  what  is  said  in  the  book. 
It  is  presumed  that  readers  are  acquainted  with  Froebel's 
Education  of  Man. 

The  Editor  is  very  grateful  for  the  help  given  to  her  by 
Miss  N.  Catty.  M.A.,  and  Mr.  F.  Storr. 

HENRIETTA  BROWN  SMITH. 
January,  191 2, 


CONTENTS 


WHERE   WE   ARE      . 

The  General  Editor 


THE   PERSONALITY   OF   THE   TEACHER         ...        13 
Miss  E.  M.  Minhinnick,  The  Pesialozzian  School,  Plymouth 

RELIGIOUS     TEACHING     AND     RELIGIOUS      DEVELOP- 
MENT       21 

MissE.  R.  Murray,  Maria  Grey  Training  College,  Brondes- 
bury 

THE   HEALTH    OF    CHILDREN 44 

Miss  A.  Home,  Lecturer  in  Hygiene,  Home  and  Colonial 
College,   Wood  Green 

THE   BABY-ROOM 60 

Miss  E.  B.  Cole,  Lecturer  in  Education 

LITERATURE  [a)  Stories  and  Story  Material  .  •         •       75 

(5)  Poetry 88 

]\liss  E.  M.  Minhinnick,  The  Pestalozzian  School,  Plymouth 

HANDWORK,     [a)  The  Cultivation  of  Artistic  Tendencies 

IN  Young  Children    .  .  .  .      .        96 

Miss  C.  von  Wyss,  Lecturer  on  Nature  Study 
and  Art 

(b)  Industrial  Handwork    ,  ,  .  .      104 

The  General  Editor 
vii 


viii  CONTENTS 


MUSIC 


R.  T.  White,  Mus.  Doc,  Goldsmith's  College,  University  of 
London 

GAMES 138 

The  General  Editor 

METHOD   OF  APPROACH   IN  NATURE   STUDY       .         .150 
Miss  C.  von  Wyss,  Lecturer  on  Nature  Study  and  Art 

EARLY  WORK   IN   NUMBER 15S 

Miss  A.  L.  Wark,  B.A.,  Lecturer  in  Education 

READING  AND   WRITING 174 

Miss  E.  R.  Murray,  Maria  Grey  Training  College,  Brondes- 
bury 

SUGGESTIONS  AS  TO  THE  BASIS  OF  HISTORY  TEACH- 
ING         I9S 

Miss  C.  Legg,  B.A.,  Byron  House  School,  Highgate 

SUGGESTIONS     AS    TO    THE     BASTS     OF    GEOGRAPHY 

TEACHING 203 

J.  F.   Unstead,  M.A.,  Lecturer  in  Geography,  Goldsmiths' 
College,  University  0/  London 


WHERE  WE  ARE 

'i.  7  ^   ?  % 

This  is  the  eighth  year  of  the  performance  of  Pete^'  Pan. 
Fifty  years  ago  that  play  could  not  have  been  written,  for 
children  had  not  then  revealed  themselves  to  the  extent 
to  which  under  present  conditions  we  see  them  revealed. 
Nor  would  its  very  wide  appeal  have  been  possible  at  that 
time,  for  children  were  suffered  rather  than  understood  or 
enjoyed. 

The  newspapers  of  January  1912  described  a  Christmas 
present  given  by  an  American  millionaire  to  his  httle  son  : 
it  is  a  play  house  which  has  cost  £6,000,  and  is  said  to  be  com- 
plete in  all  its  arrangements.  This  also  would  have  been 
impossible  fifty  j^ears  ago,  even  if  millionaires  had  been  as 
common  as  they  are  now  ;  for  if  people  lacked  sympathetic 
imagination  with  regard  to  children,  they  had,  at  least,  a 
strong  sense  of  moral  responsibility. 

These  extremes  help  to  demonstrate  our  present  position. 
We  know  now  the  importance  of  early  years,  and  the  children's 
need  for  liberty  and  right  surroundings  in  order  to  grow  ;  but 
we  shut  our  eyes  to  the  harm  that  is  being  done  by  those 
parents  who  gratify  themselves  in  their  children's  pleasures, 
and  by  those  teachers  who  glorify  themselves  in  making 
children  fit  a  theory.  This  does  not,  of  course,  apply  to  all 
parents  and  teachers,  but  to  the  extreme  cases.  And  it  is 
from  extremes  that  we  learn  the  tendencies  of  our  time. 

In  this  book  we  are  concerned  with  the  more  limited  sphere 
of  the  teacher's  work,  and  the  teacher  of  young  children  is 
one  of  the  most  zealous  persons  alive  ;  but  she  is  the  victim 
of  an  overwhelming  number  of  new  theories  concerning  the. 
nature  of  children,  and  without  the  test  of  time  and  experience 
it  is  very  difficult  to  sort  out  the  true  from  the  false.  And 
the  zeal  of  the  teacher  is  not  always  her  best  guide  in  this 
difficult  task. 

The  past  has  given  us  a  great  legacy  of  ideas,  and  a  smaller 

1  B 


2  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

one  of  practice,  and  it  would  be  useful  to  set  out  quite  definitely 
what  help  it  has  given  us,  and  how  we  have  used  it. 

It  may  be  fairly  assumed,  even  by  those  who  are  not  alto- 
gether in  agreement  with  them,  that  the  principles  of  Frocbel 
have  had  the  most  lasting  influence,  whether  for  good  or 
evil,  on  the  education  of  young  children.  In  the  first  place 
his  theory  and  practice  went  hand  in  hand  ;  in  the  second 
place  he  was  more  deeply  impressed  than  any  previous  edu- 
cator had  been,  with  the  importance  of  a  child's  early  years, 
and  in  the  third  place  he  had  a  deep  and  real  knowledge  of 
young  children,  derived  partly  from  a  long  study  of  their 
natures,  and  even  more  from  a  kind  of  maternal  instinct  with 
which  he  seems  to  have  been  endowed. 

Froebel  was  a  borrower  and  an  originator — in  both  capa- 
cities he  showed  his  genius.  In  borrowing  he  transformed 
and  illuminated  what  he  had  borrowed,  as,  for  example,  in 
the  case  of  handwork.  With  Pestalozzi  handwork  was  httle 
more  than  a  useful  subject  which  helped  to  make  children 
better  fitted  for  their  life  after  school,  and  formed  a  means 
towards  a  HveUhood.  With  P'roebel  it  was  a  means  of  develop- 
ment towards  one  of  the  highest  phases  possible  to  man — 
that  of  creativeness. 

There  is  httle  doubt  that  Froebel  was  greatly  influenced 
by  both  Rousseau  and  Pestalozzi,  and  took  freely  of  their 
experiences ;  at  the  same  time  there  is  no  crude  hteralism  in 
his  borrowing,  but  rather  an  originahty  as  great  as  in  his 
individual  work. 

As  an  originator  we  owe  more  to  Froebel  in  theory  and  in 
practice  than  to  any  other  educationahst  of  the  past,  in 
relation  to  the  education  of  young  children  ;  and  though 
much  of  his  work  is  spoiled  by  contusion  of  style,  and  exces- 
sive symbolism,  and  many  of  his  apphcations  are  strained 
and  unpsychological,  5'et  we  inherit  from  him  certain  great 
and  outstanding  principles  that  have  stood  the  test  of  time 
and  experience,  and  a  spirit  that  still  inspires  his  followers. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  value  to  us  of  his  practice  or 
application  of  principle.  On  the  one  hand  it  is  strained  and 
often  very  far  from  reaching  the  children  for  whom  it  was 
intended — as,  for  examj^le,  the  scheme  of  Gifts  and  Occupa- 
tions with  all  their  bye-laws  :  and  on  the  other  hand  without 
this  api)lication  we  should  not  have  had  the  strong  confidence 
in  his  work,  nor  should  we  have  been  so  conscious  of  the  spirit 
in  which  his  work  was  done.     By  means  of  a  material  medium 


WHERE  WE   ARE  3 

he  has  been  able  to  inspire  his  followers  much  more  effectively 
than  if  he  had  simply  written  the  Education  of  Man — and 
yet  between  the  education  of  man  and  the  Kindergarten 
system  there  is  a  great  gulf. 

Professor  Dewey,  one  of  Froebel's  most  enlightened  followers, 
has  given  a  very  probable  explanation  of  the  circumstances 
that  drove  Froebel  to  the  rather  narrow  and  symbolic  apph- 
cation  of  his  work,  and  of  the  logical  rather  than  psychological 
treatment  of  much  of  the  material  of  the  gifts  and  occupations. 

"  It  must  be  remembered  that  much  of  Froebel's  sjonbolism 
is  the  product  of  two  pecuhar  conditions  of  his  own  hfe  and 
work.  In  the  first  place,  on  account  of  inadequate  knowledge 
at  that  time  of  physiological  and  psychological  facts  and 
principles  of  child  growth,  he  was  often  forced  to  resort  to 
strained  and  artificial  explanations  of  the  value  attaching 
to  plays,  etc.  To  the  impartial  observer  it  is  obvious  that 
many  of  his  statements  are  cumbrous  and  far-fetched,  giving 
abstract  philosophical  reasons  for  matters  that  may  now 
receive  a  simple  every  day  formulation.  In  the  second  place 
the  pohtical  and  social  conditions  of  Germany  were  such 
that  it  was  impossible  to  conceive  continuity  between  the 
free  co-operative  social  life  of  the  Kindergarten  and  that  of 
the  world  outside.  Accordingly  he  could  not  regard  the 
"  occupations "  of  the  schoolroom  as  hteral  reproductions 
of  the  ethical  principles  involved  in  community  hfe — the 
latter  were  often  too  restricted  and  authoritative  to  serve 
as  worthy  models." 

The  following  is  an  attempt  to  set  out,  in  summary,  the 
most  universally  accepted  of  Froebi  I's  principles,  and  to 
examine  the  nature  of  our  acceptance  of  them,  in  the  practice 
of  to-day.  It  does  not  pretend  to  be  any  consecutive  account 
of  his  psychology  or  philosophy. 

"  Education  consists  in  leading  man,  as  a  thinking  inteUi- 
gent  being,  growing  into  self-consciousness,  to  a  pure  and 
unsulHed,  conscious  and  free  representation  of  the  inner  law 
of  Divine  Unity,  and  in  teaching  him  the  ways  and  means 
thereto." 

This  definition  of  education  gives  the  keynote  to  Froebel's 
work,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  understand  it  \^^thout 
such  a  guide.  It  is  from  this  that  we  gather  the  constant 
stress  he  lays  on  the  education  of  the  individual,  his  belief 
in  the  innate  goodness  of  the  individual,  and  the  high  place 
he  gives  to  the  teacher's  work. 


4  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

In  his  sketch  of  the  developing  hfe  of  children  in  infancy 
and  early  childhood  he  is  probably  the  first  to  emphasize, 
if  not  to  discover,  the  importance  of  the  recognition  of  instincts, 
and  to  show  their  value  as  educational  factors. 

It  is  to  him  that  we  owe  the  discovery  of  the  value  of  play, 
and  it  is  he  who  makes  us  see  the  wider  meaning  of  the  word, 
and  the  importance  of  the  fact  that  "  play  and  speech  con- 
stitute the  element  in  which  the  child  lives." 

Continuing  his  investigation  of  a  young  child's  life  he 
realizes  the  part  played  by  experience,  and  how  the  self- 
taught  child  follows  his  own  natural  way  of  learning.  He 
notices  also  that  what  the  children  learn  is  their  surroundings, 
and  the  method  is  chiefly  the  method  of  doing.  He  realizes 
that  at  this  stage  children  have  the  right  conception  of  life, 
i.e.,  as  a  whole,  a  unity  ;  and  that  to  break  up  this  unity 
is  to  interfere  seriously  with  the  growth  of  both  knowledge 
and  religion.  He  points  out  that,  side  by  side  with  their 
absorption  of  the  world  without,  must  be  the  expression  of 
the  world  within  the  child,  else  his  knowledge  will  be  merely 
external.  He  gives  to  expression  one  of  the  most  important 
places  in  the  whole  of  education,  because  through  it  man 
reaches  one  of  the  highest  phases  of  his  existence,  that  of 
creativeness. 

He  speaks  strongly  against  the  fallacy  of  regarding  a  child's 
development  as  always  parallel  with  his  age — "  Each  succes- 
sive stage  depends  on  the  vigorous,  complete,  characteristic 
development  of  each  and  all  preceding  stages  of  life."  And 
he  has  spoken  no  less  strongly  against  the  education  which 
is  "  prescriptive,  categorical,  interfering,"  leaving  no  place  for 
the  individual,  instead  of  the  education  in  which  the  educator 
is  "  passive,  following  (only  guarding  and  protecting)." 

He  regards  each  individual  as  fundamentally  good,  and 
declares  that  "  a  good  tendency,  only  repressed,  misunder- 
stood or  misguided — lies  originally  at  the  bottom  of  every 
shortcoming  in  man." 

His  conception  of  the  work  of  the  mother  and  of  the  father 
is  a  very  beautiful  and  natural  one — each  at  the  right  time 
guiding  the  child  to  work  out  its  own  development.  His 
whole  sketch  of  family  life  shows  how  it  may  merge  into  school 
life  and  form  an  unbroken  existence  for  children.  He  regards 
family  life  as  the  foundation  of  the  religious  sentiment.  His 
conception  of  religious  education  is  very  closely  connected 
with  Nature  teaching  ;   it  goes  more  deeply  into  the  founda- 


WHERE  WE  ARE  5 

tions  of  religious  life  than  do  most  schemes  of  religious  teaching, 
and  it  does  not  seek  to  hasten  externals. 

Now  most  educators  accept  all  of  this,  and  a  good  many 
of  them  endeavour  to  practise  it.  But  it  has  not  yet  been 
universally  adopted  with  that  reality  and  conviction  which 
would  make  it  the  foundation  of  the  whole  plan  of  the  educa- 
tion of  young  children  :  instead,  it  has  been  adopted  in  parts, 
and  applied  to  an  already  existing  scheme. 

We  do  not  as  a  State  educate  individuals,  but  masses ;  and 
though  year  by  year  this  is  being  amended,  it  will  take  many 
years  for  teachers  to  shake  off  those  habits  of  teaching  whole 
classes,  which  they  have  both  inherited  and  acquired. 

We  do  not  really  make  the  theory  of  play  the  foundation 
of  our  Infant  Schools.  We  have  "  games  "  and  "  free  play  " 
and  "  lessons."  We  should  not  as  a  matter  of  fact  be  allowed 
to  do  so  by  most  inspectors,  even  if  the  teachers,  as  a  body, 
were  prepared  to  grasp  all  the  meaning  and  sacrifice  all  the 
results.  Groos'  tremendous  maxim,  "  Animals  do  not  play 
because  they  are  young,  they  have  their  youth  that  they 
may  play,"  leaves  most  teachers  and  inspectors  cold,  and 
with  no  apparent  increase  of  responsibility. 

We  do  not  understand  "  free  self-expression."  We  think 
we  are  applying  it  when  we  put  in  our  time  tables  such  terms 
as  "  free  drawing,"  "  free  movements."  The  very  need  to 
make  such  statements  condemns  us  :  the  freedom  is  an 
attachment  to  existing  organized  work  :  want  of  courage 
to  face  real  childish  results  and  mistakes  bars  the  way  to 
freedom  as  a  principle.  We  have  not  studied  its  meaning 
sufiiciently  to  see  the  whole  of  its  bearing  on  our  work.  Crea- 
tiveness  is  still  a  sin ;  sometimes  it  is  called  disobedience, 
sometimes  rudeness,  sometimes  destructiveness.  It  is  seldom 
welcomed,  and  often  not  recognized. 

In  spite  of  the  wordy  enthusiasm  with  which  the  idea  of 
motor  activity  has  been  taken  up  by  Educational  Authorities 
all  over  the  country,  our  schools  are  still  furnished  "  forHsten- 
ing  "  and  not  for  doing.  We  have  stiU  children  under  eight 
seated  at  rigid  desks,  in  monotonous  rows,  for  nearly  every 
kind  of  "  activity  "  :  now  and  then  they  stand  at  the  wall 
for  drawing,  and  now  and  then  go  to  the  hall  for  a  game,  but 
for  most  of  the  day  they  remain  rigid.  Until  suitable  furni- 
ture is  provided  for  all  children  under  eight,  it  is  foolishness 
to  talk  of  motor  activity. 

The  promotion  scheme  of  1910  for  L.C.C.  Schools,  by  which 


6  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

a  child  can  be  rushed  through  the  school  by  leaps  and  bounds, 
leaping  over  stages  of  work  and  experience  in  order  to  fill 
up  empty  desks,  has  sufficiently  proved  that  the  law  of 
development  is  entirely  ignored  by  those  in  authority.  Formal 
skill  in  mechanical  arts  is  considered  a  sufficient  test  for  pro- 
motion— "  Yet  the  boy  has  not  become  a  boy  nor  has  the 
youth  become  a  youth  by  reaching  a  certain  age,  but  only 
by  having  lived  through  childhood  and  further  on  through 
boyhood,  true  to  the  requirements  of  his  mind,  his  feehngs 
and  his  body." 

We  break  up  the  child's  world  for  him  into  what  we  call 
"  subjects, "and  then  try  to  piece  them  together  by  a  ridiculous 
process  called  correlation.  It  is  enough  to  realize  how  the 
chapters  of  this  book  overlap  to  prove  to  ourselves  how  real 
is  the  unity  of  the  beginnings  of  things.  No  false  system  or 
correlation  will  piece  together  a  unity  that  has  never  been  in 
the  teacher's  mind. 

Perhaps  the  worst  fault  of  which  we,  as  a  bodj'  of  educators, 
have  been  guilty  has  been  that  of  literal  interpretation. 

This  is  due  partly  to  the  fact  that  many  of  Froebel's  dis- 
ciples took  his  applications,  rather  than  his  principles,  with 
an  uncritical  and  undiscriminating  eagerness  :  and  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  all  Froebel's  work  is  progressive  they  have 
acted  as  if  he  had  said,  "  To  be  time  FroebeHans  you  must 
follow  at  all  costs  my  methods,  use  only  such  materials  as  I 
have  prescribed  and  in  the  way  I  have  directed,  think  along 
my  lines  only,  and  adopt  my  words  as  an  inspired  gospel." 

That  many  have  gone  beyond  this  stage  of  blind  disciple- 
ship  is  obvious,  if  we  compare  some  of  the  earlier  questions 
set  by  the  National  Froebel  Union  with  those  of  the  last  few 
years. 

Compare.  Which  of  the  Ivindergarten  gifts  and  occupations 
specially  lend  themselves  to  the  teaching  of  geometry  ?  Enunitrate 
the  various  angles,  plane  figures,  and  solids  with  which  a  well-trained 
Kindergarten  child  should  be  familiar,  and  state  in  each  case  the  gift 
or  occupation  through  which  that  knowledge  has  been  gained. 

With.  Give  six  concrete  instances  of  how  ideas  of  quantity,  size,  or 
number  can  be  formed,  by  means  of  something  made  or  arranged. 

Compare.  What  kind  of  influence  ould  sticklaying  have  on  an 
impatient  child  ? 

\\  ith.  What  has  been  your  experience  of  the  educational  value  of 
handwork  in  the  ca.se  of  mentally  deficient  children  ? 

Compare.  What  are  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  a  first  sewing 
lesson  to  a  class  of  babies  ?  Show  how  you  will  do  this,  and  give  an 
outline  of  the  lesson. 


WHERE   WE  ARE  7 

With.  Describe  a  first  course  of  sewing  based  on  children's  interests 
and  needs.     Point  out  its  educational  value. 

Compare.  Give  in  outline  a  first  course  of  nine  lessons  on  Gift  IV, 
and  state  what  knowledge  might  be  gained  in  each  lesson. 

With.  Suggest  in  detail  suitable  material  for  constructive  work  in 
building,  and  show  how  children  might  use  it  naturally  and  profitably. 

We  are  therefore  at  a  critical  time  when  we  are  flinging 
off  certain  shackles,  distrusting  certain  tests  and  changing 
our  aims  ,  many  of  us  must  feel  rather  bewildered  by  a  vague 
sense  of  responsibility,  and  the  necessity  of  coping  with  the 
overwhelming  number  of  new  theories  that  come  with  every 
new  book  or  inspector. 

It  is  hopeless  and  wasteful  to  attempt  to  try  them  all 
because  they  are  new  ;  only  a  kind  of  intellectual  and  moral 
dissipation  can  result  from  that.  It  is  necessary  to  have 
some  sort  of  permanent  and  steady  aim  by  which  we  can 
test  or  judge  new  theories,  to  see  on  what  kind  of  foundation 
they  rest. 

Most  of  the  educational  aims  seriously  put  forth  by  thought- 
ful people,  past  and  present,  have  in  common  a  tendency 
to  hnk  education  in  some  way  to  life.  Comenius  by  his, 
curriculum  would  prepare  the  young  child  for  life.  Rousseau 
would  simply  let  him  live,  and  trust  Nature  for  the  rest ; 
Pestalozzi  formulated  the  same  idea  by  his  famous  maxim, 
"It  is  hfe  that  educates  "  ;  Froebel  based  his  plans  on  the 
natural  developing  life  of  the  child  ;  and  one  of  Froebel's 
most  enlightened  followers,  Prof.  Dewey  of  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, New  York,  has  put  this  into  practice  in  connexion  with 
industrial  work  as  a  starting  point,  in  such  a  way  that  it  is 
safe  to  infer  one  of  his  most  fundamental  ideas  to  be,  that 
education  is  to  help  a  child  to  live  fully,  through  direct  contact 
with  hfe. 

ihough  expressed  differently  this  idea  is  accepted  as  a 
fundamental  maxim  by  most  educators,  even  if  they  do  not 
always  recognize  it  in  its  application.  The  more  utilitarian 
see  in  the  infant  even,  the  future  specialized  worker.  They 
see  him  prepared  for  a  trade  in  the  handwork  of  his  early 
years.  The  less  materially  minded  are  satisfied  that  it  is  always 
useful  to  have  a  store  of  general  knowledge  and  be  "  clever 
with  the  hands."  But  these  people  forget  that  education 
cannot  be  regarded  as  a  preparation  for  life,  because  children 
are  living  very  fully  and  intensely  during  these  early  years. 
Education  is  Hfe,  and  must  assimilate  itself  with  the  life  of 
children  at  the  particular  stage  of  their  development.     The 


8  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

school,  to  a  young  child,  must  be  both  in  atmosphere  and 
organization  as  nearly  as  possible  a  reproduction  of  his 
natural  life,  and  this  must  be  kept  in  view  very  clearly  by 
teachers,  and  by  those  who  have  authority  over  teachers  ; 
then  there  will  be  no  sharp  division  between  the  life  of  the 
school  and  the  life  of  the  family  and  social  world  :  the  conduct 
should  be  the  same,  and  the  interests  continuous. 

Now  all  of  this  is  implied  and  often  actually  set  out  in 
the  Educalion  of  Man  :  but  it  has  not  been  always  under- 
stood or  practised  in  the  Kindergarten  system.  Parents 
have  complained  that  children  have  no  desire  to  make  things 
at  home,  because  they  miss  the  help  of  the  teacher :  they 
forget  the  exact  way  of  doing  the  thing,  and  they  have  not 
the  "  proper  materials."  Children  have  been  known  to 
express  very  frankly  their  sense  of  boredom  at  the  ramifica- 
tions of  correlation  in  no  uncertain  language.  Others  have 
complained  that  "  you  neither  play  nor  work,"  and  they 
would  rather  do  the  one  or  the  other.  These  are  the  bolder 
spirits  :  there  must  be  many  unspoken  criticisms  besides. 
It  is  not  dilTicult  to  discriminate  between  the  schools  and 
Kindergartens  where  the  children  live,  and  those  where  they 
are  educated  on  a  system. 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  book  to  attempt  to  set  out  how  the 
various  subjects  of  the  curriculum  may  be  put  to  this  test 
and  regarded  rather  as  aspects  of  life  than  as  subjects. 

For  the  first  eight  years  or  so,  a  child  is  like  a  stranger 
in  a  new  country  :  all  his  surroundings  are  unfamiliar  and 
important,  and  instinct  drives  him  to  get  to  know  them  and 
to  acquire  some  power  over  them.  The  school,  then,  must  in 
the  first  case  provide,  as  far  as  it  can,  such  surroundings  as 
shall  arouse  and  satisfy  developing  interests  and  stimulate 
initiative.  The  various  aspects  of  life  that  interest  a  child 
must  form  the  basis  of  the  school  plan — and  the  methods 
should  be  those  followed  naturally  in  fife.  This  is  the  only 
true  correlation,  where  the  child  is  the  centre  and  his  various 
interests  the  radii  from  the  centre.  He  is  not  ready  to  regard 
life  as  a  unity  yet,  he  is  only  seeing  small  connexions  :  to 
force  others  is  false  and  foolish  work.  But  it  must  be  a 
unity  in  the  teacher's  mind. 

It  is  easy  to  discover  his  interests  and  to  provide  suitable 
surroundings  ;  at  least  it  is  easy  to  suggest  what  these  suitable 
surroundings  ought  to  be  in  order  to  satisfy  his  growing 
interests. 


WHERE   WE   ARE  9 

(a)  He  is  interested  in  all  the  things  of  Nature,  including 
the  sky,  the  weather  and  the  varying  seasons.  To  satisfy 
this  there  should  be  living  things  to  care  for  both  inside  and 
outside  the  school,  and  some  of  the  dreary  asphalt  playground 
should  be  broken  up  for  garden  borders  and  sand  heaps,  not 
in  a  school  here  and  there  but  universally  ;  it  is  probably 
needless  to  say  that  each  Kindergarten  should  have  its  own 
garden.  Inside  the  School  a  very  necessary  piece  of  apparatus 
in  each  class-room  is  a  very  large  zinc  or  zinc-lined  tray  for 
nature  work.  There  should  be  plenty  of  window  ledge  space, 
tables  and  shelves  for  plants — so  that  each  child  has  a  place 
for  his  pot  of  growing  things. 

(b)  A  child  is  interested  in  many  inanimate  things  which 
he  can  use  and  exercise  his  growing  power  :  by  means  of 
them  many  of  his  elementary  fundamental  ideas  come  to 
him,  e.g.,  those  of  form,  size,  balance,  weight,  motive  force. 
For  this  plenty  of  toys  must  be  provided,  as  well  as  plenty  of 
constructive  material,  and  preferably  toys  which  every  indivi- 
dual can  use,  and  use  with  ease.  The  gifts  of  Froebel  were 
the  first  step  in  this  direction,  and  form  a  suggestive  basis  : 
but  there  is  no  need  to  pursue  an  exhausted  application  to  its 
death  :  many  of  his  bricks  are  too  small  and  too  uniform  to 
gi\'e  sufficient  scope.  Life  is  psychological  and  presents  itself 
haphazard  :  the  gifts  are  logical  in  plan  and  application  and 
do  not,  so  to  speak,  keep  a  neck  to  neck  pace  with  children's 
experiences.  Besides  toys  there  should  be  a  constant  stream 
of  odd  things,  often  acquired  by  chance,  brought  by  both 
teacher  and  children  for  general  observation. 

(c)  Children  are  keenly  interested  in  other  people,  and  this 
is  seen  in  their  passion  for  stories.  As  far  as  surroundings 
go  plenty  of  pictures  and  picture  books-  should  be  provided 
in  this  connexion. 

(d)  They  are  fond  of  music  and  rhythmic  verse,  and  this 
suggests  that  at  any  rate  a  piano,  and  if  possible  a  vioHn, 
should  be  included  in  school  furniture  :  a  small  band  of  chil- 
dren with  toy  instruments  can  be  formed  to  head  the  hne  in 
marching,  and  play  in  time  to  the  music. 

(e)  They  are  interested  in  construction  and  in  representa- 
tion in  either  action  or  material  :  for  these  surroundings 
should  provide  space,  materials  and  tools,  the  latter  of  the 
simplest  order.  This  is  more  fuUy  dealt  with  in  the  section 
on  Industrial  Handwork. 

(/)  They  are  interested  in  all  varieties  of  physical  activity. 


10  EDUCATION   BY  LIFE 

and  again  the  most  requisite  necessity  is  space,  both  inside 
and  outside  the  school.  Balls,  reins,  skipping  ropes,  etc., 
are  useful  here. 

The  curriculum  naturally  follows  the  developing  interests  : 
it  should  be  regarded  simply  as  aspects  of  life,  and  at  this  stage 
it  is  often  difficult  to  discriminate  between  a  subject  and  a 
method,  notably  in  the  case  of  games  and  handwork.  Briefly, 
however,  the  interests  may  be  set  down  in  the  order  previ- 
ously followed  for  surroundings :  {a)  Nature  work ;  (5) 
number  and  form  work,  with  possibly  some  experimental 
science  and  geography  ;  (c)  hterature  inch 'ding  poetry  ;  {d) 
music  ;  {e)  constructive  handwork  and  dramatic  representa- 
tion ;    (/)   physical  exercises  ;    {g)  religious  ideas. 

Reading  and  writing  are  not  aspects  but  conventions  or 
acquired  arts  of  life,  and  so  they  do  not  form  a  part  of  the 
developing  interest.  They  are  necessary,  but  should  not  be 
prematurely  forced  upon  children  when  time  is  needed  for 
more  valuable  and  important  work.  They  are  not  a  test  of 
intelHgence,  but  simply  of  memory  and  mechanical  skill. 
Yet  .they  form  an  important  consideration  in  the  promotion 
of  children.  Up  to  the  age  of  seven,  the  normal  child  evidently 
feels  no  desire  or  need  to  learn  either.  He  may  appear  to 
do  so  from  simple  desire  to  imitate  an  elder  child,  but  he  is 
not  naturally  anxious  to  do  anything  so  formal.  The  desire 
to  work  for  a  future  need  is  not  possible  for  a  young  child, 
and  unless  reading  is  so  bound  up  with  extraneous  interests 
as  to  be  almost  unrecognizable  it  is  a  bitter  p  A  to  swallow. 
This  is  dealt  with  more  fully  in  the  chapter  on  that  subject. 
The  constant  practice  both  incidentally  and  consciously  in 
language,  and  the  building  up  of  the  vocabulary  is  the  best 
of  preparations,  and  this  is  referred  to  in  the  chapter  on  stories 
and  on  games. 

The  methods  indicated  in  the  following  chapters  are  as  far  as 
the  writers  can  see  the  methods  of  hfe — but  only  general  indica- 
tions, and  a  point  of  view  are  given.  The  details  must  be 
left  to  special  conditions,  and  the  teacher's  own  personality. 

The  best  method  can  be  spoilt  by  people  whose  indivi- 
duality does  not  fit  it,  or  whose  want  of  intelligence  keep 
them  from  discriminating  between  device  and  principle.  Pro- 
grammes of  work,  except  as  exemplifications  of  a  principle, 
should  never  be  given  to  teachers  in  general.  They  presup- 
pose a  lack  of  individuality  and  discrimination,  indeed  a  kind 
of  professional  indolence  and  want  of  spirit,  in  those  who 


WHERE   WE  ARE  ii 

adopt  them  to  any  large  extent.  Both  special  method  and 
plan  of  work  should  be  markedly  characteristic  of  the  profes- 
sional individuality  of  any  teacher. 

If  it  is  hfe  that  educates,  then  the  methods  of  teaching 
should  be  the  methods  of  hfe.  Man  first  learnt  because  he 
felt  a  great  need,  and  to  know  certain  things  or  not  know 
them  meant  life  or  death  to  him.  In  early  times  he  learnt 
to  know  first  by  doing,  by  active  experiment,  by  constant 
trials,  and  he  gradually  handed  down  his  experience,  as  it 
was  needed,  to  his  successors.  Children  must  in  some  way 
follow  this  path  ;  in  fact  they  do  so  outside  school,  where 
they  acquire  their  most  fundamental  and  lasting  knowledge. 
If  the  need  is  not  always  there,  naturally,  it  is  easy  for  a  teacher 
to  arouse  one,  but  she  has  to  learn  to  control  herself  as  she 
follows  the  children,  in  the  way  the  early  man  followed  his 
son  in  his  first  hunting  experiments,  letting  him  try  his  own 
skill   and   only   supplying   experience  when   it   was   needed. 

Children  must  make  mistakes  if  they  are  to  learn  the  real 
things  of  hfe.  To  guard  a  child  from  this  is  to  blind  and 
cripple  him,  and  send  him  out  unfit  for  life.  Material  may 
appear  to  be  spoilt  and  time  may  appear  to  be  wasted,  but 
the  appearance  is  fallacious.  By  the  other  method  powers 
are  wasted,  initiative  killed.  The  discipline  will  be  more  of 
an  atmosphere  than  an  achievement,  and  no  class  can  be  in 
any  sense  level,  but  rather  a  collection  of  individuals.  The 
question  of  disciphne  forms  no  special  section  in  this  book,  it 
is  rather  a  reSi^t  of  following  the  methods  of  life  as  far  as  the 
children  are  concerned,  and  is  implied  in  the  section  on  the 
personality  of  the  teacher. 

The  sections  on  reading  and  writing,  and  on  history  and 
geography,  and  much  of  the  section  on  music,  are  intended 
largely  for  the  child  from  seven  to  eight,  though  the  reading 
article  may  imply  earlier  possibilities.  Up  to  eight  the 
average  child's  school  life  should  be  unbroken,  and  in  one 
atmosphere.  From  seven  to  eight  they  are,  so  to  speak, 
changing  their  skins,  they  are  beginning  definitely  to  master 
certain  difficulties,  to  show  some  material  and  outward  pro- 
gress ;  when  this  stage  is  complete  they  are  more  ready  for 
a  new  kind  of  world  such  as  the  girls'  or  boys'  school,  but 
they  are  not  girls  or  boys  until  they  have  reached  this  stage, 
and  they  should  not  be  placed  in  conditions  where  they  are 
officially  or  virtually  regarded  as  such. 

In  a  recently  published  book,   What  Is  and  What  Might 


12  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

Be,  by  Mr.  E.  G.  Holmes,  a  Utopian  school  is  sketched 
where  nothing  but  what  is  ideal  ever  seems  to  happen. 
We  cannot  hope  or  even  wish  to  become  Utopians,  and 
according  to  Lowell  "  We  cannot  bring  Utopia  by  force." 
It  is  hfe  at  its  best,  with  all  its  human  possibilities  and  diffi- 
culties, that  we  must  aim  at  reaching,  and  allow  for,  in  our 
plans;  and  we  must  shun,  as  we  would  shun  any  form  of 
untruth,  the  highly  organized  "  up  to  date  "  school,  where 
there  is  a  glamour  perfection  as  false  as  it  is  pernicious. 

But  while  we  may  never  reach  Mr.  Holmes'  very  beautiful 
but  somewhat  unreal  school,  we  may  hope  in  time  to  have 
more  human  and  homehke  schools,  beginning  with  the  nursery 
in  those  districts  where  conditions  demand  the  early  care  of 
children,  and  ending  with  children  who  have  fulfilled  the 
conditions  necessary  for  real  development,  without  undue 
haste,  and  ready  for  the  more  organized  and  controlled  atmo- 
sphere of  the  girls'  and  boys'  school,  where  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  education  will  still  consist  in  leading  them  "  to  a  pure 
and  unsulhed,  conscious  and  free  representation  of  the  inner 
law  of  Divine  Unity." 

Henrietta  Brown  Smith. 


BOOKS   OF  REFERENCE 

Froebel's  Education  of  Man,  Hailmann's  translation.     Inter.  Ed.  Series. 

Autobiography.     Appleton. 
Comenius'  School  of  Infancy  (Heath's  Pedagogical  Library).     25.  6d. 
Pestalozzi's  How  Gertrude  Teaches  Her  Children  (Swan  Sonnenschein).' 
The  Child's  Inheritance.     Greville  Macdonald.     125.  bd. 
What  Is  and  What  Might  Be.     E.  Holmes.     4s.  6d.  net.     Constable. 
The  School  and  Society.     Dewey.     University  of  Chicago  Press.     5s. 
The   School   and  the   Child.     Dewey.     Blackie.     is. 
Infant    Schools.     Salmon     &    Hindshaw.     (First    Part.)     Longmans 

Green.     45.  6d.  ' 

Articles  in  Child  Life.     Geo.  Philip  &  Son. 
Studies  in  Childhood.     Sully.     Longmans,  Green.      12s.  6d. 


THE  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  TEACHER 

Education  means  giving  the  child  the  necessary  oppor- 
tunity to  develop  its  best  self.  Fitness  to  do  this  on  the  part 
of  the  educator  demands  sympathy,  insight  and  power.  To 
become  really  forceful  in  the  child's  highest  development 
makes  exacting  demands  upon  those  whose  life  work  it  is, 
and  the  influence  of  the  teacher's  personality  in  this  process 
cannot  be  over-estimated. 

Personality  sums  up  what  we  are  and  includes  heritage 
and  individuality,  together  with  the  resulting  effects  of  their 
interaction  upon  the  varied  conditions  of  environment — 
the  great  modifiable  factor  in  education.  By  force  in  an 
educational  sense  is  meant  an  influence,  direct  or  indirect, 
which  induces  a  re-action  of  some  kind  in  the  organism  being 
operated  upon — the  child.  The  force  of  the  teacher  becomes 
operative  in  inducing  desirable  and  suitable  re-actions : 
first,  by  improving  conditions  of  environment  apart  from 
self  ;  secondly,  by  direct,  appeal,  because  she  is  what  she  is. 
From  all  points  of  view  the  study  of  environment  is  of  deep 
interest,  but  especially  to  those  who  believe  in  the  vitalizing 
power  of  the  personal  force,  a  force  which  can  make  livable, 
and  even  helpful,  an  environment  of  a  seemingly  most  hope- 
less type.  To  gauge  this  influence,  to  state  exactly  in  what 
it  consists,  is  difficult,  because  as  a  force  it  is  so  impalpable, 
so  unconscious,  so  much  a  part  of  one's  everyday  life  that 
one  passes  it  by. 

At  times,  however,  there  crosses  one's  path  a  nature  of 
so  striking  and  vivid  a  type  that  its  appeal  is  insistent,  and 
demands  recognition.  Then  it  is  that  we  feel  the  meaning  of 
the  personal  element.  The  far-reaching  effect  of  personality 
has  been  fully  recognized  in  the  past,  but  its  general  recogni- 
tion as  a  vivifying  power  in  helping  the  best  in  us  to  become 
better,  has  not  been  so  widely  accepted.  To  most  of  us  has 
come  the  expeiience  of  contact  with  one  of  so  uplifting  and 
inspiring  a  nature,  that  even  after  the  lapse  of  years,  the 


14  EDICATION  BY    LIFE 

recall  of  that  influence  has  been  to  impel  to  deeper  and  fuller 
effort.  Others  may  have  touched  one's  life  for  just  an  hour 
or  two,  but  that  passing  touch  has  left  an  ineffaceable  record, 
kindling  to  finer  issues  some  undreamt  of  power  within  our- 
selves. Life's  great  teachers  have  been  those  who  have  be- 
gotten within  the  sphere  of  their  influence  an  unquenchable 
hunger  for  goodness,  truth  and  beauty. 

Occasionally  power  of  this  kind  is  met  with  in  the  class- 
room, when  the  gifted  teacher  makes  everything  of  living 
service  to  the  chidl.  Nothing  must  stand  in  the  way  of 
helping  to  make  us  more  worthy  of  our  work.  The  enrich- 
ment of  personality  is  an  absolute  duty,  possible  to  all,  even 
to  the  dull,  the  commonplace.  No  one  can  be  either  if  filled 
with  the  desire  to  be  of  the  greatest  service  to  the  children. 
To  be  so  actuated  dignifies  outlook  and  makes  the  rut  of  the 
commonplace  impossible,  and  such  genuine  feeling  at  the 
back  of  effort  may  be  safely  trusted  to  find  a  right  means  of 
satisfaction. 

Belief  in  the  unconscious  influence  of  taste  by  surroundings 
demands  the  improvement  of  environment  in  all  ways  ;  the 
utmost  would  be  done  to  render  the  children  more  sensitively 
responsive  to  beauty,  and  hurt  by  the  harmful  and  ugly  things 
of  life.  Especially  would  attention  be  directed  to  elevate 
the  standard  of  cleanliness,  the  hunger  for  fresh  air,  and  an 
appreciation  of  and  desire  for  order  and  neatness  in  one's 
self  and  one's  immediate  surroundings.  The  school  or  class- 
room reflects  the  teacher — its-  freshness,  homeliness,  comfort 
and  tasteful  arrangements  indicate  what  she  is.  This  is  the 
outcome  of  absolute  belief  in  the  vital  importance  of  what 
is  being  attempted,  coupled  with  a  personality  so  discriminat- 
ing and  intelligent,  as  to  realize  the  possibilities  of  the  environ- 
ment within  its  control.  Every  inducement  is  there,  wliich 
makes  for  sensitiveness  of  response. 

If  we  agree  that  each  one  of  us  is  an  unconsciously  modifying 
influence  in  hfe,  it  naturally  follows  that  each  should  con- 
sider by  what  means  that  influence  can  be  made  of  greater 
value  to  the  community  as  a  whole,  particularly  so  by  those 
who  are  brought  into  such  close  relationship  with  the  young. 
"  A  spirit  communicated  is  a  perpetual  blessing.  The  best 
teachers  chmb  beyond  teaching  to  the  plane  of  Art.  It  is 
themselves  and  what  is  best  in  themselves  that  they  com- 
municate. Every  man  or  woman  is  one  of  mankind's  dear 
possessions,  to  his  or  her  just  brain  or  kind  heart  and  active 


THE  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  TEACHER    15 

hands,  mankind  entrusts  some  of  its  hopes  for  the  future  ;  he 
or  she  is  a  possible  well  spring  of  good  acts  and  source  of 
blessings  to  the  race." 

This  brings  us  to  the  direct  appeal.  That  appeal  which 
emanates  from  the  teacher  because  of  the  personal  touch — 
that  subtle  something  which  begets  in  those  coming  under  its 
sway  an  unconscious  reflection  of  itself.  The  personalities 
with  whom  we  are  brought  into  daily  contact  offer  material 
for  study  which  is  both  valuable  and  interesting,  valuable  as 
throwing  light  upon  the  effect  of  personal  influence  upon 
children. 

The  following  notes  taken  from  actual  experience  may 
illustrate  this. 

A.  is  the  calm,  self-reliant,  gentle  teacher,  full  of  enthusiasm 
for  her  work,  heedless  of  self,  devoted  to  the  children  whose 
good  points  she  always  discovers  and  makes  the  best  of. 
She  has  them  really  in  the  hollow  of  her  hand.  Their  respect 
and  love  for  her  never  fails,  and  it  lasts  even  into  manhood 
and  womanhood. 

B.  is  the  born  leader,  clever,  keen,  richly  endowed  with  the 
power  of  sympathy  and  human  appeal.  A  sense  of  humour 
that  is  irresistible,  and  with  all  this,  ability  to  command  and 
a  sufficiency  of  force  and  good  sense  to  carry  her  followers 
intelligently  along.  There  is  devotion  and  slavish  following, 
but  this  is  the  misfortune  rather  than  the  fault  of  such  a 
leader. 

C.  is  another  born  leader,  clever  and  keen  in  many  ways, 
but  full  of  conceit  and  an  overpowering  belief  in  self.  Lacking 
in  breadth,  only  able  to  see  things  from  one  point  of  view. 
A  decided  autocrat  in  government.  Obtains  good  immediate 
superficial  results,  but  holds  and  trains  with  such  a  tight 
hand  that  her  work  shows  nothing  suggestive  of  a  fuller  life 
ahead  ;  rather  is  there  a  tendency  to  distaste  for  the  very 
things  in  which  such  apparently  good  work  is  being  done,  and 
an  intention  on  the  part  of  the  workers  to  have  a  good  time 
as  soon  as  they  are  unfettered. 

D.  is  a  calm,  self-reliant  nature  ;  clever,  restrained,  most 
patient.  A  slave  to  duty  and  excellence,  whose  work  with 
the  children  is  always  more  for  the  future  than  the  present. 
Influence  a  matter  of  very  slow  growth,  but  abiding  in  its 
nature.  Her  pupils  always  respect  her,  but  few  of  them 
realize  what  she  has  been  to  them  until  they  have  left  school 
some  distance  behind. 


i6  EDUCATION   BY    LIFE 

E.  is  enthusiastic,  interesting,  and  in  certain  ways,  capable, 
but  erratic  and  unstable,  sustained  effort  is  not  easy  to  her. 
constantly  getting  into  difficulties  because  of  this  and  her 
lack  of  method.  Influence  strong  with  children  at  the  mo- 
ment, but  not  abiding. 

F.  Not  clever,  diffident  of  her  own  power,  absolutely  honest 
and  true,  most  persistent,  succeeds  because  of  her  doggedness, 
charming  in  many  ways,  and  very  appealing  to  children. 

Personality  shows  itself  in  manner  and  bearing  which  should 
be  its  unconscious  expression.     When  it  is  not,  when  there  is 
the  faintest  trace  of  artificiality  or  insincerity,  then  something 
is  wron^,   and  the  influence  or  lack  of  it  upon  the  children  is 
proportionately  bad.    The  majority  of  young  teachers  would  do 
well  to  give  this  side  of  their  work  more  attention  than  they 
do.     Too  many  are  either  on  stilts,  so  superior  that  they  neve- 
get  near  enough  to  the  children  in  sympathy  to  know  much 
about  them,  or  to  be  of  any  real  use  to  them,  or  so  apologetic, 
so  flabby,  so  weak,  that  they  fail  to  inspire  with  confidence 
or  anything  strong  and  stimulating.     The  superior    people 
must  get  off  their  stilts  and  be  natural.     The  apologetic  must 
stiffen  and  try  to  cultivate  that  habit  of  self-forgetfulness 
which  thinks  only  of   the  work.     If   the  young  teacher  feels 
the  sanctity  of  her  work,  that  will  give  her  the  right  kind  of 
bearing.     Daily   experiences   must   be   broad,    inspiring   and 
educative,  permeated  throughout  with  a  thoughtful  regard 
for  the  child's  future  good.     Respect,  admiration  and    belief 
in   the   teacher  should   deepen   with  closer  intercourse,   and 
they  do  deepen  if  the   teacher  is  honestly  doing  her  best. 
Devotion  to  duty,  and  unselfish  regard  for  the  welfare    of 
the  child,  tells,  although  due  recognition  may  never  be  made 
to  the  doer.     To  prepare  for  this  work  and  to  maintain   the 
ideal  with  which  one  starts  is  not  easy.      There  are  frequent 
disheartenments.     One  rarely  sees  any  result  for  one's  best 
effort,  and  visible  results  are  grateful  to  all.      But  the  teacher 
has  to  put  much  of  that  aside,  and  sustain  herself  with  the 
belief  that  nothing  good  is  ever  ineffective  or  ever  lost.     With 
that  conviction,  it  is  possible  to  be  a  happy  worker  without 
regard  for  results.     This  possibility  is  kept  alive  in  us  in  all 
sorts  of  ways,  depending  largely  upon  the  needs  of  our  indivi- 
dual natures.      No  two  pcoj^le  are  influenced  or  affected  in 
quite  the  same  way,  or  by  the  same  stimulus,  and  it  is  neces- 
sary to  find  the  things  in  life  which  make  the  highest  appeal 
to  us,  and  keep  alive  that  steadfast  belief  in  the  value  and 


THE  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  TEACHER   17 

purpose  of  what  we  are  doing.  We  want  to  be  responsive 
to  the  best,  to  be  fitting  and  worthy  of  the  privilege  of  service. 

This  must  be  the  constant  aim.  "  The  crowning  grace  of 
personality  is  in  the  power  to  invest  the  conditions  of  life 
with  meanings  emanating  from  ourselves."  Right  choice  of 
the  source  of  enrichment  is  not  always  the  easy  thing  it  would 
seem  to  be.  Just  as  "  Each  child  must  find  his  own  mode  ol 
expression,"  so  the  teacher  must  find  his  or  her  own  mode  of 
inspiration.  Youth  is  the  time  of  optimisin  and  undaunted 
belief  in  possibility,  and  it  is  just  as  hard  to  realize  one's 
limitations  then,  as  it  is  later  to  do  all  that  one  sets  out  to  do. 
Because  of  this,  it  sometimes  happens  that  time  and  energy 
are  both  misspent  in  trying  to  acquire  a  taste  that  is  con- 
sidered desirable  in  the  main,  but  which  makes  no  strong 
personal  appeal.  We  need  courage  and  wisdom.  The  courage 
that  insists  on  being  true  to  one's  own  individual  needs  and 
the  wisdom  to  recoi^nize  limitations,  and  to  put  aside  the 
apparently  unattainable.  "  To  be  what  we  are  and  to  become 
what  we  are  capable  of  becoming  is  the  only  aim  of  hfe." 
All  those  influences  which  make  for  strength  and  purpose  in 
action,  for  lofty  ideals,  and  for  readiness  of  response  to  truth 
and  beauty,  are  essentials  in  the  deepening  of  personality. 
The  initial  step  in  this  process,  the  deepening  of  the  personality 
of  the  teacher,  demands  that  one  should  fall  in  love  with  one's 
work.  Its  importance  must  overshadow  all  else,  its  value 
must  stand  out  clearly  as  the  most  desirable  thing  in  Ufe. 
This  attitude  of  aspiration  and  desire  renders  welcome  any 
training,  however  arduous,  for  approximate  approach  to  the 
ideal.  For  equipment  in  personal  fitness,  the  first  and  most 
essential  factor  would  be  the  means  to  be  taken  for  the  strength- 
ening of  character.  There  must  be  due  recognition  of  the 
moral  law,  acquirement  of  self-control,  and  cheerful  response 
to  the  call  of  duty. 

The  recognition  of  the  moral  law,  and  the  means  to  be 
employed  for  its  fulfilment,  is  of  unique  importance  in  one's 
deahngs  with  children.  "  Between  educator  and  pupil, 
between  request  and  obedience,  there  should  insensibly  rule 
a  third  something  to  which  educator  and  pupil  are  equally 
subject.  This  third  something  is  the  right,  the  best.  The 
child  has  a  very  keen  feeling,  and  rarely  fails  to  distinguish 
whether  what  the  educator  or  father  says  or  requests  is 
personal  or  arbitrary,  or  whether  it  is  expressed  by  him  as  a 
general  law  or  necessity."     Any  failure  on  our  part  to  recog- 


i8  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

nize  this,  and  to  live  in  harmony  with  its  teaching,  lessens 
our  value  as  educators.  It  is  never  unwise  to  apologize  to 
a  child  or  to  a  class  when  hastiness  in  temper  or  judgment  has 
made  one  unjust.  Children  are  very  generous  on  such  occa- 
sions, and  are  always  ready  to  go  half-way  to  meet  one. 

Social  service  living  with  and  for  others  is  another  means 
of  development  in  the  personal  life.  Such  service  broadens 
sympathy  because  it  brings  one  into  closer  touch  with  human 
needs  and  failings.  It  should  make  insight  keener  and  anxiety 
greater  for  the  welfare  of  the  children.  The  difficulties  of 
life  are  more  real,  and  the  disciplinary  value  of  such  work 
is  great.  It  makes  for  efficiency  in  thought  and  action.  No 
member  of  a  community  can  live  the  life  fully  without  gaining 
power  on  the  side  of  insight,  discriminating  judgment  and 
balanced  action. 

In  the  attempt  to  enrich  the  personal  life,  and  make  the 
setting  more  worthy,  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  a  sensible 
balance  between  work  and  leisure.  The  over-zealous  are 
inclined  to  use  up  more  energy  than  can  be  afforded,  and 
physically  to  lower  their  standard  of  efficiency,  which  makes 
them  practically  less  fit  to  do  well  the  work  they  have  most 
at  heart. 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  the  slack  people,  and  quite  a 
good  number  of  them.  Such  are  inclined  when  their  course 
of  training  is  done  with,  to  settle  down  and  just  be  satisfied 
with  what  they  have — a  hand  to  mouth  poHcy  which  is  fatal 
to  good  work.  It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  teaching  is 
an  organic  process,  and  is  influenced  by  the  developing  forces 
which  underHe  all  vital  activity.  To  stand  still  is  impossible 
— one  must  do  one  of  two  things — go  on  or  go  back.  So  that 
it  is  imperative  to  take  advantage  of  all  the  opportunities 
within  reach  ;  but  it  is  equally  imperative  to  do  so  with 
reasonableness  and  good  sense.  The  wise  use  of  opportunity 
means  training  one's  self  to  see  things  in  right  perspective, 
to  have  a  due  sense  of  proportion  and  fitness.  This  gives  a 
well  balanced  outlook  which  is  of  priceless  value  to  the  teacher. 

A  child's  questions  relative  to  motive  and  conduct  make 
severe  demands  upon  readiness  of  thought,  and  the  power  of 
bringing  conflicting  elements  into  right  focus.  What,  for 
example,  is  the  right  thing  to  do  when  a  small  child  asks, 
"  W^hy  may  I  play  ludo  in  the  drawing-room  on  Sunday 
when  my  brother  may  not  play  croquet  on  the  lawn  ?  "  In 
treating  such  a  question  as  this  the  teacher  must  think  of  the 


THE  PERSONALITY  OF  THE  TEACHER   19 

relationship  of  the  parent  to  the  child,  and  do  and  say  nothing 
that  will  in  any  sense  lessen  the  child's  respect  for  father  and 
mother.  The  child  has  to  be  satisfied,  and  the  teacher  has 
to  give  an  answer  that  shall  be  in  harmony  witli  the  law  of 
right.  Personality  largely  determines  how  this  shall  be  done. 
Tlie  child's  difficulties  are  considerably  lessened  when  the 
teacher's  point  of  view  is  sufficiently  intelUgent,  broad  and 
sympathetic  to  include  that  of  the  child.  The  question  of 
government  is  equally  influenced.  When  to  see  and  when 
not  to  see  are  matters  of  detail  in  class  management,  largely 
dependent  upon  outlook.  The  more  we  have  thought  and 
read  and  experienced,  the  less  Hkely  are  we  to  make  mistakes. 
In  dealing  with  rewards  and  punishments,  in  seizing  the 
opportunity  of  the  moment  for  furnishing  experiences  that 
will  last,  wisdom  in  meeting  any  of  these  conditions  is  largely 
the  outcome  of  that  power  which  solves  the  problems  of  the 
moment  on  a  basis  of  culture  and  experience. 

The  exercise  of  personality  is  fraught  with  possible  danger, 
both  to  teacher  and  taught.  Strength  of  character  is  accom- 
panied by  a  sense  of  power,  the  use  of  which  is  both  natural 
and  enjoyable,  and  in  this  pleasure  is  its  temptation.  The 
teacher  may  become  an  autocrat  in  government — superior 
and  opinionated,  scornful  of  those  with  less  strength,  impa- 
tient and  irritable  when  in  contact  with  opposition,  cruel 
even  to  the  sensitive  in  her  manifestation  of  that  impatience, 
and  conceited. 

The  working  conditions  of  a  teacher's  life  have  in  them 
elements  conducive  to  the  development  of  these  unfortunate 
traits.  There  is  the  constant  attitude  of  authority,  which  is 
decidedly  bad  ;  then  we  are  dealing  with  minors,  who  are 
dependent  in  many  ways  upon  us,  and  are,  for  the  most  part, 
at  our  mercy.  All  this  gives  to  the  position  a  fictitious  value. 
Hence  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  keep  a  strong  check  upon 
the  use  of  this  power,  and  to  try  to  be  in  right  perspective. 

Upon  the  child  the  effect  of  dominating  power,  unless 
wisely  used,  is  even  more  disastrous.  Many  strong  natures 
do  harm  th;0''ghslieer  thoughtlessness.  It  has  never  occurred 
to  them  to  consider  what  effect  they  may  have  upon  the 
children  whom  they  are  tr;y'ing  to  educate.  The  kind  of 
domination  varies  with  the  individual,  but  of  whatever  type, 
unless  used  with  care,  it  harms  the  children,  because  it  weakens 
their  attitude  in  some  form  or  another,  and  tends  to  make 
them  less  able,  less  confident,  less  self-reliant.     The  children 


20  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

must  do  their  own  thinking,  formulate  their  own  judgments, 
and  be  as  free  and  independent  as  is  consistent  with  com- 
munity life. 

It  is  a  great  temptation  to  a  forceful  teacher  to  let  the 
children  rely  too  much  upon  her.  As  a  result  of  this,  they 
acquire  a  habit  of  looking  for  a  mental  and  moral  prop.  The 
enormity  of  this  is  rarely  felt  until  adult  life  is  reached,  when 
the  abihty  to  think  and  act  for  one's  self  should  be  fully 
matured,  but  in  many  instances  is  lamentably  wanting,  be- 
cause of  this  crippHng  domination  in  early  life.  Nobody 
means  to  do  this,  but  few  of  us  grasp  the  importance  of  intel- 
lectual and  moral  freedom  for  the  child.  We  are  too  eager 
to  hasten  development  on  lines  that  seem  good  to  us,  forget- 
ting the  fact  that  the  child  must  develop  along  the  lines  of 
its  own  peculiar  needs.  Any  attempt  to  force  it  in  an  opposite 
direction  ends  in  weakness  or  disaster.  The  personal  element 
must  never,  under  any  circumstances  whatsoever,  swamp 
individuahty. 

So  much  for  the  forceful  people.  To  those  less  strikingly 
effective — and  there  are  many  such — might  one  suggest 
that  earnestness  and  beUef  in  our  high  calling  is  one  of  the 
best  means  of  gaining  efficiency  and  power  ?  Be  really 
interested  in  what  you  are  doing,  and  show  that  interest. 
Use  your  own  judgment,  get  hold  of  principles,  and  think  out 
their  application  in  your  own  way.  The  effort  involved  in 
all  this  produces  a  stronger  mental  attitude,  and  begets  a 
sense  of  capability  and  power — an  excellent  antidote  for 
ineffectiveness.  If  you  possess  any  gift — a  cheerful  habit  of 
mind,  a  more  than  usual  care  for  orderliness,  both  of  mind 
and  the  material  things  of  the  class-room — use  it.  By  its 
exercise  you  become  stronger  and  of  more  value.  Whatever 
your  gift,  cultivate  it,  make  it  of  use  to  your  children.  Do 
not  be  afraid  of  such  use  because  it  may  appear  to  you  to 
be  trivial  or  outside  of  the  curriculum.  The  use  of  a  gift 
which  you  yourself  realize,  will  help  you  to  self  confidence, 
and  will  react  on  your  work  with  the  children  for  efficiency 
and  enjoyment. 

E.    M.   MiNHINNICK. 


RELIGIOUS    TEACHING    AND    RELIGIOUS 
DEVELOPMENT 

\^'hen  we  speak  of  religious  teaching  or  of  religious  training, 
we  usually  mean  religious  instruction  only.  As  a  rule,  for 
younger  children  this  consists  in  the  telling  or  reading  of 
Bible  stories,  the  repetition  of  hymns  and  Bible  texts,  and 
possibly  of  some  catechism.  Any  discussion  on  the  subject 
is  apt  to  confine  itself  to  the  right  choice  of  these  to  suit 
different  ages  or  stages. 

Before  we  come  to  this,  one  question,  it  seems  to  me,  ought 
to  .be  honestly  faced  and  honestly  answered.  In  all  other 
directions  we  are  nowadays  agreed,  that  the  proper  proceed- 
ing is  to  provide  right  conditions  for  development.  We  give 
much  thought  to  the  natural  tendencies  through  which  it 
is  possible  to  guide  development,  in  what  we  consider  to  be 
the  right  direction.  Now  the  question  is,  whether  we  are 
to  deal  with  religious  teaching  in  the  same  way,  or  whether, 
in  this  particular  subject,  we  are  to  go  on  putting  before 
children  what  we  know  they  cannot  yet  understand,  but 
what  we  hope  they  will  find  valuable  in  after  days. 

It  is  surely  a  mistake  to  treat  what,  we  are  all  agreed,  is 
the  most  important  subject  of  all,  according  to  methods 
which  in  ail  other  subjects  are  now  considered  ineffective. 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  decide  what  material  has  most  religious 
value  for  little  children.  Most  writers  refer  to  this  as  a  difii- 
cult  point,  and  leave  it  unsolved.  In  religious  teaching, 
little  help  can  be  gained  from  following  the  course  of  race- 
development,  though  the  Herbartians  have  attempted  it  in 
a  half-hearted  way.  To  do  so  is  to  ignore  Froebel's  warning 
that  the  child  is  the  child  of  the  present  as  well  as  of  the 
past,  it  is  to  ignore  the  force  of  the  suggestions  which  pour 
in  upon  him  from  his  surroundings. 

We  cannot  let  our  children  invent  a  terrible  Being  to 
account  for  the  thunder.  We  do  not  wish  them  to  believe 
in  Thor  and  his  chariot,  except  with  the  "  conscious  self- 


22  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

delusion  "  which  is  said  to  underlie  art.  Nor  is  it  wise  to 
let  them  believe  that  in  the  thunder,  which  the  instinct  of 
self-preservation  causes  them  to  dread,  they  hear  the  voice 
of  God.  We  cannot  let  them  imagine  beings  of  superior 
strength  who  must  be  propitiated.  Though  children  are 
ready  enough  to  personify  the  sun,  the  wind  and  other  natuial 
phenomena  ;  though  they  may  often  treat  a  doll  or  a  favourite 
stone  as  a  fetish,  yet  such  occurrences  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  rehgious  life  of  a  modern  child  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions. It  is  possible  that  such  things  might  assume  different 
proportions  in  the  case  of  a  child  from  whom  all  rehgious 
teaching  was  carefully  withheld.  This,  however,  is  hardly 
possible,  for  every  child  sees  churches,  hears  church  bells, 
and  asks  questions,  and  from  the  most  meagre  of  answers 
can  construct  for  himself  something  undreamt  of  by  primitive 
man. 

Dr.  Hayward,  in  his  Reform  uf  Moral  and  Biblical  Educa- 
tion, follows  the  Herbartian  ZiUer  in  suggesting,  only  as  he 
says  tentatively,  certain  fairy  tales  as  the  riglit  instruction 
material  for  children  under  seven.  He  also  follows  Ziller 
in  giving  as  the  psychological  principle  to  be  kept  in  vie  v  : 
"  That  the  teacher's  chief  duty  at  this  stage  is  to  kindle 
the  imagination,  for  the  moral  judgment  of  the  child  is 
undeveloped,  and  the  teacher  should  not  try  to  force  it 
prematurely."  For  his  second  stage,  and  here  he  tells  us 
he  speaks  with  confidence,  the  psychological  principle  to  be 
kept  in  view  is,  "  That  the  special  moral  interests  of  children 
at  tliis  stage  do  and  ought  to  centre  round  duties  within  the 
family  circle." 

There  is  something  strange  in  this  order.  It  seems 
somewhat  extraordinary  that  the  family  circle  is  not  con- 
sidered in  the  case  of  the  younger  children.  The  fairy  tales 
and  the  other  material  spoken  of,  such  as  Msop's  Fables 
and  certain  specified  fairy  tales,  not  only  have  no  religious 
value,  but  many  of  them  are  far  beyond  the  range  of  ideas 
of  a  young  child.  The  error  here  seems  to  be  somewhat 
fundamental,  namely,  the  taking  for  granted  that  morality 
precedes  religion,  which  is  as  untrue  in  the  case  of  children 
as  it  is  of  primitive  men. 

In  Froebel's  Training  Course  the  teachers  were  to  be 
"  trained  to  the  care  and  observation  of  the  earliest  germs 
of  the  religious  instinct  in  man,"  and  this  is  surely  the  right 
course  to  pursue. 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING   AND  DEVELOPMENT   23 

If  we  take  this  view  we  shall  probably  agree  that  religion, 
religious  development  and  religious  training  neither  can  nor 
ought  to  be  confined  to  a  set  period  per  week  or  per  day. 
There  is  far  too  much  direct  religions  instritction  given  to  children. 
It  must  re(]uire  real  genius  to  give  a  Bible  lesson  to  the  same 
children  every  morning  without  letting  it  become  a  matter 
of  routine  which  fails  to  excite  any  emotion. 

We  do  not  always  realize  where  the  religious  element 
ought  to  come  in.  We  do  not,  for  instance,  bring  reverence 
into  our  Nature  lessons  as  we  ought  to  do.  It  is  Arthur 
Thomson  who,  speaking  of  the  time  when  our  forefathers 
held  the  oak  as  an  emblem  of  what  was  sacred  and  heard 
God  speak  when  it  rustled,  adds  :  "We  seem  to  go  to  the 
other  extreme  now,  for  we  pass  a  noble  oak  tree  without 
looking  at  it."  Froebehans  at  least  will  not  agree  with  one 
statement  in  Miss  Ayres'  helpful  Suggesiian  for  a  Syllabus 
in  Religious  Teaching,  where  she  speaks  of  the  aim  of  the 
religious  course  being  "  to  bring  the  child  into  relation  with 
God  through  His  works,"  and  then  says  that  "  this  aim  and 
that  of  Nature  teaching  are  quite  distinct." 

No  one  except  Froebel,  has,  so  far  as  I  know,  given  any- 
thing like  a  full  account  of  the  beginnings  of  religious  develop- 
ment in  a  child.  His  accounts  seems  quite  in  accordance 
with  modern  psychological  ideas,  and  we  may  with  much 
profit  consider  what  he  had  to  say  on  a  subject  to  which  he 
attached  the  utmost  importance. 

To  Froebel  "  religion  is  the  endeavour  to  raise  into  clear 
knowledge  the  feeling  that  originally  the  spiritual  se.f  of  men 
is  one  with  God."  Religious  instruction,  he  says,  "  quickens, 
confirms  and  explains  the  feehng  that  man's  self,  his  mind 
and  spirit  proceed  from  God  ;  it  gives  an  insight  into  the 
being  and  working  of  God,  into  the  relation  of  God  to  man, 
it  apphes  this  knowledge  to  life  and  to  the  progressive  develop- 
ment of  mankind." 

To  the  question,  \^'hen  does  rehgious  development  begin  ? 
he  answers  that  as  with  the  spring  to  hfe  of  seed  or  plant 
it  is  there  long  before  it  is  outwardly  visible,  and  he  protests 
against  the  frequent  "  it  is  much  too  early."  It  is  the  "  how," 
not  only  the  "  when,"  he  tells  us  to  consider.  Still  he  gives 
us  help  in  recognizing  the  earliest  stages. 

I.  The  very  beginning  he  finds  in  the  relations  between 
the  child  and  the  parents  :  "  This  feeling  of  community  first 
uniting  the  child  with  mother,  father,  brothers  and  sisters  .    .  . 


24  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

is  the  very  first  germ  of  all  true  religious  spirit,  of  all  real  yearning 
for  perfect  union  with  the  Eternal." 

2.  This  beginning  is  fostered  by  the  religious,  that  is  the 
reverent  atmosphere  of  the  home,  which,  says  Froebel,  children 
understand  with  the  heart,  not  by  the  thought.  And  surely 
this  is  really  true,  though  it  may  not  be  expressed  in  exact 
psychological  terms.  Emotion  is  communicated  with  Uttle 
need  for  thought,  and  however  enhghtened  it  maybe,  rehgion 
to  be  religion  must  be  largely  an  emotion. 

3.  Froebel  considers  also  the  gesture  of  reverence,  the 
closed  eyes,  bowed  head  and  folded  hands,  usually  taught 
to  httle  children,  "  the  outward  appearance  of  gathering 
together  the  innermost  force  of  life." 

4.  Very  early,  too,  begins  the  child's  "  life  with  Nature 
and  with  the  fair  silent  things  of  Nature."  In  the  Mother 
Songs,  the  baby  in  its  mother's  arms  is  told  that  a  kind  but 
unseen  spirit  put  into  the  flowers  the  colour  and  sweetness 
which  give  him  so  much  pleasure.  "  Some  one  put  it  there 
for  baby,  some  one  baby  cannot  see."  So  the  sun  sends  its 
hght  to  please  the  child,  the  moon  and  stars  love  him :  "  Love 
is  what  they  wish  to  show,"  says  Froebel.  "  In  Nature's 
every  word  God's  own  Father  voice  is  heard,"  and  as  the 
child  looks  at  the  starry  sky  he  is  to  feel  the  Being  of  its 
Creator.  The  wind  again  is  a  great  Force  unseen,  effects 
only  can  be  seen. 

Nor  is  this  all  mere  sentiment ;  to  Froebel  as  to  Goethe 
the  Time  Spirit  "  weaves  for  God  the  garment  "  we  see 
him  by,  and  this  he  desires  to  put  before  a  child  in  such  form 
as  to  make  appreciation  possible. 

5.  Akin  to  the  importance  of  the  home  atmosphere  is  the 
joining  in  the  religious  life  of  others.  "  The  coming  of  people 
together  in  an  assembly  "  attracts  the  child,  and  his  pleasure 
in  an  occasional  church  going  arises  "  from  the  speaking  and 
singing  being  done  by  all  .  .  .  it  is  the  entrance  in  a  common 
life  that  makes  him  enjoy  going  to  church."  Those  who 
have  to  deal  with  young  children  would  do  well  to  notice 
how  Froebel's  "  mother  "  answers  her  child's  questions  about 
church  going  "  out  of  tlie  range  of  his  own  experience,  feelings, 
and  ideas,  his  own  intellectual  development  and  necessities." 
He  is  told  that  there  he  will  learn  "  Why  flowers  bloom  and 
birdies  sing,  And  why  we  still  remember  Christmas  Day,  And 
why  you  feel  so  happy  when  you  play  \\'ith  flowers  and  little 
lambs  in  spring  :  Or  see  the  moon  and  stars  and  sunset-glow." 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT   25 

He  is  to  be  told,  too,  of  the  music  of  the  organ,  deep  and 
grand. 

6.  Another  fundamental  note  is  the  interdependence  of 
the  community  and  the  inter-relations  of  the  whole  universe. 
The  family  comes  first ;  it  "  affords  the  first  opportunity  for 
the  child  to  notice  the  bond  whereby  humanity's  life  is  bound 
up  together."  The  family  is  "  more  than  school  and  church." 
But  the  baby  is  taught,  too,  that  he  has  to  thank  Jenny  the 
cook,  and  Peter  who  mows  the  grass  for  the  cow:  "  Stronger 
grows  my  baby  tender  by  the  service  people  render  !  "  W'hen- 
ever  opportunity  occurs,  the  mother  is  told  to  "  make  this 
inner  dependence  of  life  clear  and  impressive,  until  you  come 
to  the  last  ring  that  holds  all  the  rest,  God's  Father  love  for 
all."  The  baker  must  have  flour,  the  miller  must  have  corn, 
"  the  field  can  yield  no  crop  if  nature  does  not  work  towards 
it,  if  God  did  not  place  in  her  power  and  material,  if  His  love 
did  not  guide  everything  to  its  fulfilment."  But,  Froebel 
says  to  the  mother,  "  it  is  not  directly  and  at  one  blow  that 
you  can  make  this  clear,  it  must  come  about  with  very  gentle 
steps.  The  way  lies  through  the  imaginative  and  emotional 
observation  of  nature  and  of  man's  Hfe,  and  by  expressing 
by  representation  what  he  thus  takes  in."  So  the  child's 
sympathy  is  aroused  by  the  helplessness  of  the  young  birds, 
and  his  own  relation  to  his  mother  is  shown  to  him  "  in  the 
looking  glass  of  outer  life,"  as  he  watches  the  mother  bird 
caring  for  her  young,  and  he  turns  to  her  with  the  cry  of  how 
he  loves  her. 

7.  And  then  immediately  follows  the  necessity  for  expres- 
sion :  "  For  even  a  child's  love,  left  unsought,  unfostered, 
droops  and  dies  away." 

Froebel  does  not  omit  the  necessity  for  expression  in  words. 
He  says  little  of  prayers  for  very  Mttle  children,  but  he  does 
say  of  the  age  of  six  :  "  At  this  juncture  it  is  most  beneficial, 
strengthening  and  uplifting  for  the  child  to  receive  words, 
a  language  for  his  feehngs,  that  these  may  not  be  stifled  and 
vanish  away  for  lack  of  expression."  \Vhat  he  emphasises 
here  is  that  "  the  words  must  give  expression  to  what  is 
already  in  the  boy's  soul,  he  must  not  be  expected  to  give 
life  to  them." 

In  the  verses  describing  the  ideal  child,  "  The  mother 
kissed  upon  his  brow  her  blessing.  Then  his  love  for  her  ex- 
pressing. Off  he  starts  his  mother  serving,  All  he  can  do  she's 
deserving."     As  the  child  sees  flowers  and  plants  and  animals 


26  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

do  their  part,  so  he  too  '  even  as  a  child  should  fulfil  his  calling  ; 
every  age  has  its  duties,  and  duties  are  not  burdens.  Every 
healthy  child  likes  doing  his  small  duties,  and  the  consciousness 
of  duty  done  gives  independence.  See  how  happy  he  is  in 
this  feehng,  he  feels  his  i.inship  with  you  thereby." 

8.  This  takes  us  straight  to  the  desire  for  approbation 
from  others,  and  finally  to  desire  of  approval  from  the  voice 
within,  "  the  fore-runner  of  one-ness  even  with  the  highest." 
For  the  child,  says  Froebel,  "  must  be  roused  to  good  by 
inclination,  love  and  respect,  through  the  opinion  of  others 
about  him."  The  Christian  religion  is  the  recognition  of  the 
true  Fatherhood  of  God,  and  "  the  child  attains  true  sonship 
only  by  making  the  father's  nature  and  aspirations  the  motives 
for  all  his  thoughts  and  actions.  .  .  .  Therefore  Jesus  is 
the  first-bom  of  God." 

9.  Froebel  speaks  also  of  the  necessity  for  presenting  true 
ideals  and  for  avoiding  half-truths.  Instead  of  teaching 
that  "  the  good  will  be  happy,"  meaning  an  inward  happiness 
which  is  not  yet  plain  to  the  child,  let  us  rather,  he  says,  show 
that  "  whoever  truly  seeks  the  good  must  needs  expose  him- 
self to  a  life  of  outer  anxiety  and  care.  .  .  .  The  conscious- 
ness of  having  hved  worthily  should  be  our  highest  reward 
...  we  ought  to  lift  and  strengthen  human  nature,  but  we 
d->grade  and  weaken  it  when  we  seek  to  lead  it  to  good  conduct 
by  a  bait,  even  if  this  bait  beckons  to  a  future  world." 

We  have,  then,  to  consider  in  more  or  less  detail  how  we 
can  best  help  religious  development  by  fostering  such  early 
beginnings. 

Right  relations  between  mother  and  child  are  usually,  we 
thankfully  recognize,  provided  for  by  Nature,  though  by 
friendly  talks,  and  meetings  for  parents,  the  teacher  can 
often  help  to  a  fuller  understanding  of  child  nature  and  its 
needs.  Those  teachers  whose  work  lies  among  the  ciiildren  of 
worthless  parents  often  do  most  noble  work  in  the  attempt  to 
supply  the  elements  of  sympathy  and  tenderness  which  are 
lacking  in  the  homes. 

To  create  a  religious  or  a  reverent  atmosphere  in  the  home 
is  out  of  our  power,  but  we  can  at  least  see  to  it  that  this  exists 
in  the  school.  First  of  all,  the  reverence  must  be  in  the 
teacher,  and  it  must  be  real,  not  conventional.  The  teacher 
who  is  more  occupied  in  seeing  that  the  children  keep  their 
eyes  closed,  while  an  opening  prayer  is  said  or  sung,    than 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT  27 

she  is  in  asking  God's  help  in  her  own  life  work,  can  create  no 
right  feeling.  One  hears  of  teachers,  earnest  no  doubt,  but 
sadly  mistaken,  even  interrupting  the  "  Our  Father "  by 
which  she  should  be  consecrating  her  own  day,  to  call  naughty 
children  to  order.  There  would  probably  be  no  disorder  if 
the  teacher's  soul  were  in  her  prayer,  but  if  any  should  arise, 
it  would  surely  be  better  to  call  the  un-impressed  child  apart 
and  tell  him  gently,  not  angrily,  how  she  herself  feels  about 
speaking  direct  to  God,  and  that  not  God  Himself  can  help 
him  unless  he  wants  that  help  and  tries  to  get  it. 

If  children  have  the  chance  of  feeling  that  clergyman  or 
priest,  parent  or  teacher  is  speaking  simply  and  straight  to  a 
Great  Unseen,  that  perhaps  is  the  deepest  religious  lesson 
they  can  receive.  It  should  be  no  lesson  of  fear,  but  one  of 
faith  in  the  Unseen :  nay,  it  is  more  than  a  lesson ;  as  those  of 
us  can  testify  who  remember  such  a  happening  in  very  early 
days,  it  is  an  experience. 

This  school  opening  will  take  different  forms  according  to 
the  individuaUty  of  the  teacher.  With  young  children  it 
should  always  be  short,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  it  should 
be  unimpressive.  Some  teachers  will  have  prayers  only  in 
the  form  of  hymns,  the  meaning  of  which  is  plain  to  the  chil- 
dren. Some,  again,  will  have  the  Lord's  Prayer  repeated, 
however  little  the  children  may  understand  of  words  whose 
full  meaning  few  of  us  may  ever  learn,  with  the  desire  that 
it  may  be  associated  with  the  child's  earliest  recollections. 
Some  will  read  or  repeat  a  verse  or  verses  which  seem  to  them 
appropriate,  some  will  extract  the  simplest  of  ethical  or 
religious  lessons  from  the  words  of  the  hymn.  It  is  not  at 
all  necessary  that  the  proceeding  should  be  stereotyped, 
but  it  must  be  earnest. 

It  may  be  a  help  to  some  to  hear  of  an  experiment  made 
lately  in  letting  children  make  up  a  prayer  for  themselves. 
The  opportunity  arose  at  our  little  Harvest  Festival,  when 
the  children  were  asked  if  they  would  hke  to  make  up  a  prayer 
of  thanks  for  themselves.  They  were  told  to  think  it  over 
by  themselves.  Next  morning  a  Httle  girl's  hand  went  up, 
"  I've  thought  of  something  for  the  prayer.  Thank  God  for 
fathers,  mothers  and  brothers."  She,  of  course,  had  no 
sisters,  but  other  relatives  were  promptly  suggested  and  we 
settled  on,  "  brothers  and  sisters  and  all  our  friends."  For 
several  days  there  was  a  frequent,  "  I've  thought  of  something 
more  for  the  prayer."     Once  it  was  "  Fred  (an  old  boy)   and 


28  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

me  was  talking  about  it  in  bed,  and  Fred  thinks  we  should 
say,  1  hank  God  for  tJie  moon  and  stars."  It  was  a  very  small 
boy  who  insisted  on  having  "  the  evening  star  "  as  weU  as 
"  all  the  stars,"  and  one  still  smaller  who  desired  "  our  houses  " 
as  well  as  "  our  nice  homes."  The  result  is  given  as  an 
example  of  what  is  in  the  minds  of  children.  It  should  cer- 
tainly not  be  handed  on  to  other  children.  My  only  con- 
tribution was  to  suggest  that  we  should  put  like  subjects 
together,  and  that  after  thanks  we  should  think  of  doing. 
The  children  suggested,  "  Help  us  to  be  kind  to  each  other 
in  the  playground,"  and  I  said  it  seemed  a  pity  to  stop  being 
kind  when  we  came  indoors.  I  beheve  I  was  wrong,  and  that 
tlie  children  themselves  knew  best  where  the  temptation 
was  strongest.  The  language  is  the  children's  own  :  "  Thank 
God  for  fathers  and  mothers,  for  brothers  and  sisters  and  all 
our  friends.  Thank  God  for  the  earth  and  for  the  harvest, 
and  for  the  corn  and  for  our  food.  Thank  God  for  our  not 
being  so  poor  as  some  people  are.  Thank  God  for  the  winter 
and  summer.  Thank  the  Lord  for  the  sunshine.  Thank 
God  for  the  moon  and  the  stars  and  the  evening  star,  and  for 
the  trees  and  the  flowers.  Thank  God  for  our  nice  homes  and 
for  our  houses,  and  for  our  school  and  the  teachers.  Thank 
God  for  the  sea  and  for  the  sand.  Thank  God  for  making 
Christmas  come.  Thank  God  for  making  birthdays  come  and 
for  the  toys  we  get."  (Response)  "Help  us  to  be  kind  to  each 
other  all  day  long." 

Whatever  is  done,  the  little  ceremony  must  be  reverent. 
That  it  may  be  so,  for  the  children  it  must  be  brief,  and  for 
the  teacher  it  must  be  an  act  of  worship.  Only  if  she  herself 
enters  into  it,  can  the  gesture  of  reverence  count  at  all,  only 
then  can  the  feehng  of  a  common  hfe  under  one  great  Father 
enter  the  minds  of  the  children. 

We  can  with  the  youngest  have  the  moment  that  is 
sacred,  set  apart.  But  the  minds  of  children  are  not  set  in 
conventional  grooves,  and  they  do  not  keep  to  set  times  and 
seasons  for  talking  on  religious  matters.  Their  remarks, 
references  and  questions  come  at  all  sort  of  unexpected  mo- 
ments. The  sayings,  which  to  our  sophisticated  ears  sound 
so  quaint,  may  occasion  smiles  when  the  children  are  not 
present.  But  at  the  moment,  the  simplicity  and  directness 
of  the  child  must  be  met  by  an  equal  simplicity  and  directness 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  There  should  be  no  sanctimonious 
lengthening  of  face  when  the  name  of  God  is  introduced ; 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT   29 

but  that  teacher  who  feels  inclined  to  laugh  at  a  child  is  only 
an  outsider,  she  is  not  one  with  her  children,  nor  is  her  sense 
of  reverence  very  real. 

We  can  learn  from  such  teachers  as  Kingsley  or  George 
Macdonald,  how  real  reverence  may  underlie  childlike  thought 
or  attitude.  The  verses,  "  Where  do  you  come  from,  Baby 
dear? "  and  indeed  the  whole  story  At  the  Back  of  the  North 
Wind,  in  which  they  occur,  breathe  a  spirit  which  it  is  only 
possible  to  describe  by  some  such  expression  as  reverent 
playfulness.  Kingsley's  "  Water  Babies  "  has  the  same  tone; 
and  that  Froebel  well  understood  this,  is  shown  in  such 
a  passage  as  that  in  which  he  refers  to  children  saying  grace 
over  their  toy  feast.  "  Do  not  disturb  them,"  he  writes, 
"  but  rather  avoid  noticing  it,  if  you  cannot  identify  yourself 
with  the  charm  that  underlies  it.  It  is  no  drawing  down  of 
the  sacred  into  outer  life,  it  is  the  germv.hich  gives  the  outer 
actions  of  hfe  their  meaning  and  consecration.  For  how  is 
your  child  to  cultivate  innocently  a  vital  feeling  for  what 
is  holy  if  you  will  not  grant  that  it  takes  form  for  him  in  all 
its  purity  even  in  his  innocent  games  ?  But  it  must  be  done, 
in  this  innocence,  called  forth  unsummoned  from  the  sacred- 
ness  of  childhood's  life  and  not.  for  show." 

Those  teachers  of  Httle  children,  who  are  obliged  to  spend 
the  first  half  hour  of  each  day  on  a  so-called  Bible  lesson, 
would  do  well  to  occupy  most  of  the  time  in  the  teaching 
and  singing  of  suitable  hymns.  This  is  better  than  spoiling 
beautiful  Bible  stories  by  telling  them  too  early  and  making 
them  matters  of  routine. 

Here,  then,  we  reach  naturally  the  question  of  providing 
children  with  words  by  which  they  can  express  their  feelings. 
This  is  no  easy  matter. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  always  to  know  why  certain  children 
are  so  fond  of  certain  hymns,  especially  as  these  seem  at  times 
most  unsuitable.  My  own  favourite  at  a  very  early  age  began, 
"  I  once  was  a  stranger  to  grace  and  to  God,  I  knew  not  my 
danger,  I  felt  not  my  load."  The  general  tenour  of  the  words 
affected  me  not  a  whit,  the  charm  lay  in  the  last  line  of  each 
of  its  many  verses,  where  the  words  "  Jehovah  Tsidkenu  " 
occurred.  Those  strange  sounding  words  seemed  to  me  most 
solemn  and  beautiful,  and  it  was  no  small  pleasure  to  find 
that  R.  L.  Stevenson  had  had  the  same  experience.  On  the 
other  hand,  hymns  specially  written  for  children  may  entirely 
fail  of  their  purpose.     One  child  said,  "  My  favourite  hymn 


30  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

is  the  one  about  the  hoods  and  laces,"  and  this  turned  out  to 
be,  "  For  He  is  our  childhood's  pattern."  \\  liether  she 
thought  the  liymn  referred  to  the  hood  she  wore,  and  the 
pattern  of  the  lace  on  her  pinafore  no  one  knows;  but  if  so, 
an  apparently  suitable  and  beautiful  hymn  was  somewhat 
useless.  Most  children  have  wondered  why  a  green  hill 
should  have  a  city  wall,  and  why  a  grave  the  same  size  as 
their  beds  is  particularly  to  be  dreaded.  One  child  disHked 
that  hymn  because  she  supposed  it  to  convey  a  hint  that 
even  children  die,  that  little  graves  do  exist. 

It  is  clear  that  we  cannot  always  avoid  misconception, 
and  the  mere  inversion  of  the  sentence  which  is  necessary  to 
rhythm  is  a  stumbling  block.  We  should  not,  however,  try 
to  limit  the  words  of  all  hymns  to  such  words  as  we  imagine 
they  can  grasp.  What  we  must  do  is  to  teach  carefully  in 
order  to  make  sure  that  the  words  have  some  meaning,  and 
that  the  meaning  is  of  a  religious  value.  Even  if  children 
could  understand  it,  they  should  not  look  upon  themselves 
as  simple  :  "  Pity  my  simplicity  "  is  written  from  the  adult 
standpoint,  it  is  not  a  child's  prayer.  He  who  said,  "  Except 
ye  become  as  httle  children  "  respected,  He  did  not  pity  a 
child's  simphcity. 

In  such  a  hymn  as  "  God,  who  hath  made  the  daisies," 
the  smallest  child  is  associating  God,  the  great  Father  of  all, 
with  the  daisies  that  all  may  pluck  and  enjoy.  He  knows 
that  God  made  the  daisies,  and  that  he  is  giving  thanks  for 
the  pleasure  they  bring  to  him.  Even  here  the  second  verse, 
"  Tho'  we  are  young  and  simple,  In  praise  we  may  be  bold," 
could  well  be  omitted,  and  we  must  take  care  to  explain. 
"  Suffer  the  little    children." 

The  best  collection  of  hymns  for  children  that  I  have  seen 
is  C:iild  Songs  for  Primary  Departments,  edited  by  Carey 
Bonner  (Pilgrim  Press).  Both  words  and  ideas  of  the  two 
following  are  childlike  and  are  not  introspective : — 

God,  whose  name  is  Love, 

Little  ones  are  we, 
Listen  to  the  hNmn 

Which  we  sing  to  Thee. 

Help  us  to  be  good, 

Always  kind  and  true 
In  the  games  we  play. 

And  the  work  we  do. 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT  31 

Bless  us  every  one 

Singing  here  to  Thee, 
God,  whose  name  is  Love, 

Loving  may  we  be. 

The  other  is  still  more  simple  : — 

"  Thank  you  !  "  for  the  world  so  sweet, 
"  Thank  you  !  "  for  the  food  we  eat, 
"  Thank  you  !  "  for  the  birds  that  sing, 
"  Thank  you  !  "  God,  for  everything. 

One  word  as  to  the  teaching  of  the  hymn  once  it  is  chosen, 
for  there  is  no  doubt  that  hymns  should  be  carefully  taught. 
Careful  teaching  does  not  necessarily  mean  drill  in  accurate 
repetition.  With  the  youngest  children  it  is  better  for  the 
teacher  to  sing  the  words  till  the  children  pick  them  up,  and 
join  in  of  their  own  accord,  chiming  in  at  first  as  children 
do,  with  the  latter  bit  of  each  hne.  It  may  be  as  well  to  let 
the  children  say  over  the  words  at  first,  to  see  that  they 
have  caught  them  correctly,  but  anything  like  drill  should 
be  avoided ;  the  singing  should  be  pure  pleasure. 

All  through  the  day,  everything  which  fosters  the  social 
instinct,  which  deepens  the  feeling  of  community,  has  a  reU- 
gious  bearing.  All  httle  acts  of  helpfulness  and  kindness, 
all  signs  of  consideration  for  others,  should  be  encouraged. 
The  desire  to  help  others  arises  very  early  :  "So  draw  we 
nearer  day  by  day,  each  to  his  brother,  all  to  God."  Not 
that  children  ought  to  be  praised  for  every  right  action,  but 
without  the  occasional  "  That's  right  !  "  to  the  child  who 
is  helping  the  weaker  or  controlling  himself,  no  standard 
would  be  set  up.  And  real  efforts  to  be  unselfish  or  courageous 
ought  to  be  noticed,  though  an  approving  look  may  be  quite 
enough.  Virtue,  some  writer  has  said,  thrives  best  in  a 
bracing  atmosphere,  where  right  action  is  taken  for  granted. 

As  to  the  child's  "  life  with  Nature,  and  with  the  fair  silent 
things  of  Nature,"  as  Froebel  puts  it,  it  is  surely  time  for  us 
to  realize  more  fully  that  our  Nature  Lesson  is  part,  and  no 
small  part,  of  our  religious  instruction.  It  is  because  we  do 
n(jt  yet  acknowledge  that  God  can  and  does  speak  to  us  all, 
and  especially  to  children,  in  clearer  ways  than  the  oneway  of 
the  written  word,  that  Miss  Lee  [New  Methods  in  the  Junior 
Sunday  School)  has  felt  obhged  to  hide  away  in  an  appendix 
what  her  knowledge  of  child  nature  tells  her  is  the  most  suit- 
able religious  teaching  for  them.  It  is  probably  in  the  same 
way  that  Miss  Ayres  {Suggestions  for  a  Syllabus  in  Religious 


32  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

Teaching)  suggests  that  much  of  the  Nature  teaching  may 
be  correl.ited  with  the  year's  course  of  religious  instruction. 
The  fact  is,  that  we  must  correlate  our  religious  instruction 
with  our  Nature  teaching  if  we  correlate  at  all.  We  have 
no  choice.  God  spoke  and  speaks  to  man  through  Nature 
long  before  He  spoke,  as  He  still  speaks,  through  human 
language.  Springtime  and  harvest  come  in  due  seabon,  and 
bring  in  their  wake  our  hymns  of  praise  and  thankfulness. 
Man  had  to  rejoice  in  the  warmth  and  safety  brought  by  the 
sun's  return,  before  he  could  say,  "  God  is  Light,  and  in  Him 
is  no  darkness  at  all."  He  had  to  live  in  a  thirsty  land  before 
he  could  write  of  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  and  of  the  waters 
of  life. 

It  is  surely  plain  that  if  learning  to  know  the  Great  Father 
through  His  works  is  the  end  of  our  Nature  teaching,  we 
must  pluck  from  our  minds  the  idea  that  knowledge  is  the 
aim  of  our  lessons.     A  means  it  most  certainly  is. 

It  needs  no  knowledge  of  astronomy,  but  it  needs  apprecia- 
tion of  beauty  to  call  forth  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  firmament  showeth  His  handiwork,"  with 
its  description  of  the  sun  coming  forth  Hke  a  bridegroom 
from  his  chamber.  The  writers  of  the  Psalms  watched  and 
loved  everything  in  Nature.  That  poet  who  wrote,  "It  is 
the  glorious  God  who  maketh  the  thunder,"  had  also  watched 
with  pleasure  equal  to  that  of  a  child  how  the  httle  calves 
skip.  The  writer  who  speaks  of  the  valleys,  so  thick  with 
corn  that  they  laugh  and  sing,  had  watched  the  "  little  valleys" 
of  the  furrows,  and  each  drop  of  rain  doing  its  work  of  softening 
the  earth.  How  much  feeling  for  beauty  there  is  in  "  Con- 
sider the  Hlies  ...  for  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  ar- 
rayed like  one  of  these." 

"  Must  we  talk  about  them,  they  are  so  pretty  !  "  said  a 
child  one  day  at  the  beginning  of  a  lesson  on  some  flowers. 
Must  we,  that  is,  count  the  petals  and  learn  hard  names  ? 
And  yet  the  question,  "  Are  they  all  the  same  ?  "  after  due 
time  has  been  given  for  enjoyment  of  colour  and  smell,  sends 
the  children  to  look  more  closely,  and  to  find  more  beauty 
in  the  variety,  or  in  the  wonder  that  tliey  are  all  exactly  the 
same.  There  is  rapture  over  the  tiny  pod  which  succeeds 
the  withered  sweet  pea,  over  the  colour  and  smell  6f  wall- 
flowers, o\'er  the  dainty  chambers  in  the  three  cornered 
seed  case  which  swells  out  as  the  tulip  withere.  But  all  is 
lost  when  the  teacher's  aim  is  wrong,  and  when   her  voice. 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT  33 

pouring  forth  her  adult  knowledge,  prevents  the  fair  silent 
things  speaking  for  themselves  and  for  their  Maker. 

One  step  in  the  teacher's  preparation  for  her  Nature  lesson 
might  well  be  the  reading  of  the  "  Benedicite,  Omnia  Opera," 
the  Song  of  the  Three  Children,  in  the  Morning  Service, 
where  everything,  "  all  the  green  things  upon  the  earth  "  are 
called  to  "praise  and  magnify  the  Lord  for  ever." 

Miss  Lee,  as  a  good  Froebelian,  takes  mother-love  as  her 
starting  point  for  the  baby  class,  starting  with  the  love  of 
animals  for  their  young.  By  letting  the  child  enter  into 
this,  Froebel  says,  we  make  his  own  life  objective,  and  so 
help  him  to  become  conscious  of  that  through  which  he  must 
reach  out  to  Fatherhood.  The  young  and  tender  things, 
the  nestling,  the  kitten,  the  lamb  appeal  to  the  feehngs  of 
httle  children.  Helplessness  is  something  with  which  they 
can  sympathize,  it  belongs  to  their  own  experience.  We 
want  to  fill  our  children's  minds  with  these  evidences  of 
Divine  Love,  with  which  Miss  Ayres  wisely  begins  her  year, 
emphasizing  always  the  love  of  parent  for  child  and  child 
for  parent,  to  bring  to  full  consciousness  that  most  important 
of  evidences. 

The  story  is  surely  the  way  in  which  we  may  most  fully 
accomplish  this  end.  Every  story  which  helps  children  to 
recognize  more  clearly  the  love  of  one  human  being  for  another 
is  in  itself  religious  instruction. 

Certainly  there  is  the  story  of  the  Babe  that  came  to  its 
father  and  mother  in  the  homely  inn,  wondering  cattle  standing 
round ;  the  Babe  who  was  a  King  to  its  parents  as  all  babes 
should  be,  a  Prince,  to  cherish  for  the  work,  however  small, 
he  too  must  strive  to  do  for  humanity.  Nothing  is  easier 
than  to  show  really  beautiful  pictures  of  that  Holy  Family, 
pictures  which  speak  for  themselves. 

On  the  whole,  however,  the  Herbartians  are  probably  right 
in  saying  that  most  Bible  stories  are  beyond  the  grasp  of 
the  average  child  under  six,  and  that  these  will  ultimately 
prove  far  more  effective  if  not  introduced  too  soon.  We 
are  not,  however,  reduced  to  such  substitutes  as  are  suggested 
by  Ziller.  Such  folk-tales  may  well  serve  as  food  for  the 
imagination,  and  no  doubt  they  have  their  place,  but  we 
can  feed  imagination  also  on  finer  material.  The  grotesque 
is  not  suitable  for  the  baby-room.  In  their  choice  of  stories 
the  Herbartians  ought  surely  to  have  apphed  Herbart's  own 
words,   "  From  the  parents  idealized,   the  child  learns  the 

D 


34  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

attributes  of  the  Deity."  For  religious  atmosphere,  they 
seem  to  have  depended  chiefly  on  the  child's  participation 
in  the  religious  rites  of  those  about  them.  \\'hat  seems  a 
curious  Hne  of  division  is  made  for  younger  children,  who 
are  to  be  told  stories  from  the  life  of  Jesus,  "  not  as  instruc- 
tion material,  but  as  enhghtening  narratives,  connected 
with  church  feasts."  One  wonders  if  Herbart  himself  would 
have  approved  of  this  line  of  separation. 

Probably  the  most  suitable  stories  for  little  ones  are  Miss 
Lindsay's  well  known  Mother  Stories.  The  love  of  father, 
mother  and  child,  love  and  care  for  animals,  love  of  beauty 
of  sound,  and  smell  and  colour,  the  dependence  of  human 
beings  upon  each  other  ;  such  are  the  ideas  that  Miss  Lindsay 
succeeds  in  bringing  to  the  children,  in  good  language,  with 
sufficient  incident,  and  with  an  absence  of  foolish  sentiment, 
or  anything  Hkely  to  lead  to  the  wrong  kind  of  self-conscious- 
ness or  precocious  introspection.  In  addition  to  Miss  Lind- 
say's stories  a  few  of  Miss  Laura  Richards'  beautiful  stories 
are  simple  enough  to  use.  Fairy  tales,  important  though 
they  are,  inculcate  morality  rather  than  religion.  In  most, 
kindness  is  rewarded,  while  greediness  or  ingratitude  is  pun- 
ished, and  kindness  is  far  more  real  a  virtue  to  a  child  than 
obedience.  Some  stories  like  the  Ugly  Duckling  and  the 
Sleeping  Beauty  may  have  a  deeper  touch.  There  is  an  old- 
fashioned  story  called  Susie  and  her  Six  Birthdays,  which 
might  be  useful  in  the  baby  room,  as  bringing  out  family 
love  in  the  relations  of  the  little  girl  to  her  mother,  father, 
little  brother,  cousins  and  grandparents.  It  is  very  simple 
and  well  told,  and  can  be  had  in  Collins'  Penny  Library. 
Adaptations  can  also  be  made  for  little  children  of  Water 
Babies,  At  the  Back  of  the  North  Wind  and  The  Princess  and 
the  Goblins.  The  relations  between  mother  and  child  can 
be  well  brought  out,  too,  in  such  a  myth  as  that  of  Persephone. 
Mrs.  Gatty's  Parables  from  Nature  have  too  little  incident 
for  children,  but  Earth's  Many  Voices  (S.P.C.K.)  is  an  old 
and  beautiful  collection  of  Nature  parables. 

On  children  over  six  or  seven,  well  chosen  and  well  told 
Bible  stories  make  a  deep  and  lasting  impression.  No  other 
stories  stir  a  child's  feeling,  and  stimulate  him  to  ethical 
judgments,  as  do  the  Bible  stories.  No  other  stories  show  so 
clearly  the  consciousness  of  having  Hved  worthily.  For  children 
under  eight,  ho  '  ever  as  indeed  for  any  age,  we  must  select. 
One  great  simplification  is  to  begin  with  the  story  of  Abraham. 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT  35 

If  our  aim  is  to  bring  home  to  modern  children  the  Fatherhood 
of  God,  we  shall  do  well  to  omit  the  earlier  stories.  Otherwise 
whatever  we  may  ourselves  beheve,  we  may  land  ourselves 
in  difficulties. 

I  believe  that  many  young  teachers  will  here  be  glad  of 
a  little  help  as  to  how  to  treat  these  and  other  difficulties. 
One  sometimes  hears  the  suggestion  made  that  the  teacher's 
own  behef  need  not  influence  her  telling  of  Bible  stories, 
that  as  she  tells  her  fairy  stories  and  myths,  which  are  only 
true  to  her  for  the  spiritual  truth  wrapped  up  in  them,  so  she 
can  tell  her  Bible  story.  "  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind,"  but  let  neither  man  nor  woman  tamper 
with  his  or  her  own  honesty,  or  set  up  a  wall  of  silence  between 
teacher  and  child.  To  young  teachers  I  should  hke  to  say, 
Deal  honestly  with  your  child.  Tell  him  you  do  not  under- 
stand, yet  you  believe,  if  that  is  your  position  ;  or  tell  him 
that  the  stories  are  from  an  ancient  book,  not  written  down 
till  long  after  they  happened,  and  some  of  them  copied  from 
older  books  which  are  lost,  and  that  what  seems  to  you  im- 
portant is — -and  then  emphasize  whatever  truth  you  wish  to 
impress.  If  the  child  still  presses,  "  Do  you  believe  ?  "  then 
tell  the  truth  in  this,  as  in  other  matters.  There  is  only  one 
way  in  which  we  can  still  believe  that  God  selected  one  people 
for  His  special  favour.  The  Bible  contains  the  traditions, 
the  history  and  hterature  of  a  great  people,  of  the  people 
with  the  keenest  God-consciousness.  It  shows  us  how  that 
God-consciousness  developed  from  the  time  God  walked  in  the 
garden  and  spoke  with  a  human  voice  to  the  climax  of  "  God 
is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must  worship  Him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth."  We  cannot  beheve  in  a  God  who  sent 
bears  to  devour  naughty  children,  who  sent  fire  from  Heaven 
to  punish  not  only  the  presumption  of  certain  men,  but  all 
their  innocent  offspring.  But  we  can  well  beheve  that  the 
Israelites  saw  God's  wrath  in  some  catastrophe,  as  do  all 
primitive  people  and  many  who  are  not  primitive.  We  do 
believe  that  interference  with  God's  purposes  brings  destruc- 
tion and  suffering,  not  only  to  those  who  err,  but  to  many 
who  are  innocent. 

The  teacher  who  is  ready  to  approach  serious  questions 
wiih  respect  for  the  opinions  of  others,  and  with  humility  as  to 
her  own,  is  not  likely  to  find  much  diificulty.  She  will  have 
no  desire  to  show  off  her  own  intellectual  superiority  by 
flippant  treatment  of  what  is  sacred  to  others,  and  she  will 


36  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

have  still  less  desire  to  make  children  question  the  wisdom 
of  their  own  parents.  One  useful  hint  is  that  we  need  never 
be  in  a  hurry  to  teach  to  children  what  is  new  to  ourselves. 
What  is  new  to  us  bulks  so  largely  in  our  minds,  that  it  is 
apt  to  seem  much  more  important  than  it  really  is.  It  need 
not,  for  instance,  hurt  a  child  to  beheve  that  disobedience, 
the  eating  of  a  forbidden  fruit,  put  Adam  and  Eve  outside 
the  happy  garden  of  Paradise  where  sin  puts  us  all  every 
one.  No  parent  is  likely  to  object  if  the  teacher  should  add, 
that  if  God  sent  an  angel  to  keep  them  out,  it  was  only  until 
they  had  made  themselves  good  enough  to  go  back,  and  that 
some  time  He  would  send  another  angel  to  guide  them,  that 
they  might  "  enter  through  the  gates  of  the  city,"  where 
"  they  that  do  His  commandment  have  a  right  to  the  tree 
of  Hfe." 

One  must  realize  too,  that  there  still  exist  certain  per- 
sons, who  recognize  no  halting  place  between  belief  in  a 
literal  Garden  of  Eden  and  utter  immorality.  And  honesty 
does  not  consist  in  keeping  in  the  background  important 
points  of  agreement,  and  printing  in  large  letters  un-important 
points  on  which  people  are  likely  to  disagree.  One  would 
not  willingly  tell  children  the  story  of  the  Flood,  but  a  modi- 
fied, or  rather  a  shortened  version  might  be  given  in  con- 
nexion with  the  sight  of  the  rainbow.  Here,  however,  we 
want  no  picturing,  we  want  no  vivid  imaging,  far  less  do  we 
want  the  realistic  picture  which  called  forth  the  remark  : 
"  Eh  !  there's  a  wee  laddie  droonin' ;  eh  !  what  a  shame,  what 
had  he  done  !  " 

The  story  of  the  Creation  is  a  beautiful  poem,  and  when 
one  has  been  told  that  a  child  in  an  elementary  school  in 
London,  on  being  asked  who  made  the  world  answered  doubt- 
fully "  The  County  Council  ?  "  one  feels  that  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis  may  be  called  a  mine  of  truth,  as  well  as  of  beauty. 
The  words  in  the  margin,  which  seem  to  be  a  literal  transla- 
tion, "  and  the  evening  was,  and  the  morning  was,"  can  be 
substituted  for,  "  And  the  exening  and  the  morning  were  the 
first  day."  If  any  stickler  for  ortliodoxy,  and  such  can 
exist  among  little  children,  wishes  to  discuss  the  "  days," 
it  can  at  least  be  pointed  out  that  tliese  couJd  not  be  days 
like  ours,  which  are  measured  by  the  sun,  as  the  sun  is  not 
created  till  the  fourth  day.  Perhaps  here  he  might  be  taught 
that  "  A  thousand  ages  in  Thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday 
when  it  is  past."     I  would  repeat,  tell  no  story  that  does 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT  37 

not  seem  to  you  to  have  a  moral  and  spiritual  value,  and 
concentrate  your  efforts  on  bringing  out  that  truth. 

I  have  always  begun  with  the  story  of  Abraham,  and  here 
the  only  difficulty  is  the  intended  sacrifice  of  Isaac ;  the  story 
of  Hagar  and  Ishmael  we  may  leave  out  altogether.  The 
children  must  first  be  given  some  idea  of  the  meaning  of  a 
sacrifice.  We  can  tell  them  that  just  as  we  show  our  love 
to  our  friends  by  giving  them  of  our  best,  so  did  people  in 
days  long  gone.  But  how  could  they  give  to  God,  whom 
they  could  not  see  ?  They  could  at  least  give  something 
up,  so  they  took  of  the  best  of  their  flocks,  killed  the  animal, 
and  burnt  its  flesh  on  an  altar  or  table  of  stones.  The  smoke 
rose  to  the  heavens,  and  God  would  understand,  because  He 
knows  what  we  all  mean.  Abraham  did  this  as  others  did  ; 
but  one  day  a  thought  came  to  him — it  seemed  like  a  voice 
speaking  to  him,  teUing  him  that  he  should  show  his  love  by 
giving  up  his  very  dearest.  And  so  we  follow  the  story — the 
words  are  perfect  in  their  simphcity — till  the  crisis  comes, 
and  then  the  new  thought  comes  to  him,  that  God,  who  was 
his  Friend,  who  had  made  the  world  so  beautiful,  from  whom 
comes  love  itself,  could  not  want  a  father  to  kill  his  son.  In 
two  ways,  from  two  points  of  view,  we  may  use  the  expression, 
"  God  spake."  We  may  believe  what  we  are  never  told, 
that  a  hteral  voice  spoke  from  a  hteral  Heaven  of  cloud  and 
blue  space.  Or  we  may  beheve  that  the  Great  Spirit  wrought 
within  the  soul  of  Abraham,  as  within  the  soul  of  every  one 
of  us,  bidding  us  struggle  to  do  the  best  we  know,  and  struggle 
for  our  very  lives  to  know  the  best. 

We  are  none  of  us  inclined  to  care  for  Jacob  the  Supplanter, 
and  the  children,  to  whom  people  are  either  wholly  good  or 
wholly  bad,  are  sadly  disappointed  when  the  beautiful  Re- 
becca, whose  story  they  have  loved,  actually  suggests  to  her 
son  that  he  should  deceive  his  blind  father  and  cheat  his 
brother.  "  We  thought  she  was  nice,  and  now  she's  horrid." 
The  poetic  justice  by  which  Jacob  is  cheated  in  his  turn 
appeals  to  them,  and  they  become  sorry  for  him  and  admire 
the  great  love  he  bore  for  Rachel. 

Robert  Bird's  Joseph  the  Dreamer  (Nelson)  should  be  in 
every  infant  and  junior  school,  and  it  can  be  followed  pretty 
faithfully.  Though  the  story  is  much  expanded,  it  is  so 
beautifully  told  and  so  suitable  that  it  can  be  followed  all 
the  way.  It  will  supply  a  background  for  all  the  stories 
that  follow. 


38  EDUCATION   BY  LIFE 

It  is  extraordinary  that  a  writer  so  appreciative  of  the 
story  of  Joseph  as  is  Dr.  Hayward,  should  have  said  that  the 
story  of  Moses  is  virtually  useless  for  school  purposes.  That 
story  of  the  devoted  mother,  who  would  risk  everything  to 
save  her  baby,  and  whose  love  made  her  conceive  a  way  of 
escape,  which  resulted  in  the  saving  of  the  whole  nation, 
useless  for  school  purposes  !  Not  only  the  love  of  the  mother, 
but  the  womanly  instinct  of  the  princess  and  the  picture  of 
the  httle  sister  eagerly  watching  on  the  bank,  and  best  of 
all  the  return  of  the  baby  to  its  mother,  "  paid  wages  for 
nursing  her  own  baby  !  "  all  these  delight  the  children,  and 
are  full  of  human  interest. 

Even  children  of  six  to  seven  can  be  struck  with  the  fact 
that  the  monstrous  and  inhuman  order  to  kill  the  infants 
was  the  first  act  in  the  great  deliverance,  that  through  this 
one  of  the  despised  slaves  became  learned  in  all  the  wisdom 
of  Egypt.  Children  think  far  more  than  is  generally  allowed 
by  the  theorists.  It  was  a  girl  of  seven,  whose  mother  had 
passed  from  riches  to  poverty,  who  said  :  "  I  always  think 
when  people  lose  money  and  things,  it  must  be  right  because 
God  does  it."  "  Oh,  yes,  because  some  veiy  poor  person 
might  find  it,"  said  a  little  boy.  No  more  was  said  till  a 
fortnight  later,  when  in  the  story  Joseph  revealed  himself 
to  his  brethren  witli  the  words  :  "Be  not  angry  with  your- 
selves .  .  .  for  God  did  send  me  before  you  to  preserve 
life."  Then  the  child  struck  her  hand  on  the  table,  saying  : 
"  Now  I  know  why  wrong  things  happen — good  comes  out  of 
them  !  " 

That  man  proposes  and  God  disposes  is  most  strongly 
brought  out  in  tlie  whole  story  of  the  Exodus,  without  any 
undue  dwelling  on  the  plagues  of  Egypt.  That  one  man, 
verily  inspired  of  God,  should  brave  the  whole  pxjwer  of  Egypt 
and  lead  forth  a  nation  is  surely  far  more  wonderful,  and  ' 
miraculous  means  wonderful,  than  that  he  should  vie  with 
"  sorcerers  "  in  producing  frogs  or  turning  rods  into  serpents. 
"  The  magicians  of  Egypt  did  so  with  their  enchantments." 
Many  commentators  show  that  the  plagues  had  natural 
causes,  and  perhaps  Moses  with  his  long  sojourn  in  the  wilder- 
ness knew  even  more  than  the  wise  men  of  Egypt.  That  he 
should,  by  God's  help,  transform  a  rabble  of  slaves,  who 
murmured  over  every  hardship  and  despaired  over  every 
difficulty,  into  a  nation  before  whom  "  the  inhabitants  did 
melt  away,"  at  the  sound  of  whose  trumpets  the  walls  fell 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT  39 

down,  these  are  the  real  miracles,  the  true  wonders,  which 
fill  our  hearts  with  awe,  which  make  us  realize  that  within 
man  and  woman  dwells  the  power  of  the  Almighty. 

The  children  should  at  some  time  be  led  to  see  that  God 
still  inspires  to  all  great  deeds,  and  the  very  best  story  for  that 
is  the  story  of  the  inspiration  of  Joan  of  Arc. 

The  rest  of  this  story,  up  to  the  final  settlement  in  the  Land 
of  Promise,  is  dealt  with  in  Help  in  Telling  Bible  Stories,  and 
the  question  of  making  these  stories  real  by  the  aid  of  good 
illustrations  is  fully  discussed  in  its  introduction.  If  the 
story  of  Joseph  has  been  taken  from  Bird,  and  if  favourite 
stories  have  been  re-told  when  asked  for — a  very  different 
matter  from  revision  for  the  sake  of  impressing  facts — possibly 
no  more  Old  Testament  stories  may  be  wanted  in  the  Infant 
School.  But  a  few  words  may  be  said  for  those  who  wish  to 
go  on  further.  The  story  of  Ruth  we  tell  annually  at  the  time 
of  harvest.  There  is  little  that  is  suitable  in  the  Book  of 
Joshua  and  in  the  Book  of  Judges ;  the  most  suitable  stories 
are  those  of  Deborah  and  of  Gideon.  In  the  first,  one  would 
wish  to  bring  out  how  the  bravery  of  one,  whether  man  or 
woman,  can  create  bravery  in  others.  Children  are  quite 
capable  of  understanding  that  Jael  thought  she  was  right  in 
killing  the  enemy  of  her  people,  and  the  ghastly  details  need 
not  be  given.  The  story  of  Gideon  brings  out  well  the  use- 
lessness  of  those  that  are  feeble  hearted,  and  of  those  who  are 
wanting  in  self-control.  As  to  the  story  of  Samson,  it  need 
not  be  told  till  the  children  are  old  enough  to  understand  a 
very  different  state  of  society  from  that  to  which  they  are 
accustomed.  Or  it  may  be  told  as  the  story  of  a  man  who 
was  dedicated  in  his  early  youth,  as  they  themselves  have 
been,  but  who  made  friends  with  the  enemies  of  his  people  to 
his  own  undoing.  One  class  of  children  were  told  of  Samson 
as  a  man  who  could  not  keep  his  love  for  one  wife,  but  always 
wanted  a  new  one,  and  a  girl  of  eight  made  the  only 
remark,  a  somewhat  surprising  one,  "  I  should  not  like  to 
have  his  nature."  His  death  is  a  fine  example  of  "  man's 
high  sorrow  over  his  own  failure." 

The  stories  of  Samuel  and  Saul,  of  David  and  Jonathan 
are  much  more  easy  to  deal  with.  All  teachers  should  read 
Browning's  Saul  for  their  own  inspiration. 

lurning  to  the  New  Testament,  aU,  teachers  wiU  desire  to 
tell  of  Him  who  went  about  doing  good,  of  Him  who  showed 
us  the  Father.     Besides  the  stories  of  the  birth,  the  flight 


40 


EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 


into  Egypt  and  the  home  at  Nazareth,  it  may  be  enough  to 
tell  of  the  blessing  of  the  children  and  of  the  cures  wrought 
on  those  who  had  faith.  Such  simple  and  beautiful  stories 
as  the  Prodigal  Son  and  the  Good  Samaritan  should  not  be 
left  out,  and  young  children  can  understand  something  of  the 
parable  of  the  talents  and  of  the  merciless  debtor.  For 
children  of  tender  years  it  is  surely  better  to  suppress  all 
such  details  as  are  terrible  and  tragic.  A  lesson  may  be 
taken  from  the  answer  given  by  a  child  of  eight  to  her  little 
sister  of  live.  They  were  playing  church,  and  the  little  one 
stopped  in  the  middle  of  "  There  is  a  green  hill  far  away,"  to 
ask,  "  What's  c'ucified  ?  "  "  Oh,  nothing,"  was  the  first 
answer ;  "  do  go  on."  Persistence  brought  out,  "  You're 
too  little  to  understand,"  but  that  was  met  by,  "  How'd  you 
Hke  mammy  to  say  that  to  you  ?  "  and  then  reluctantly 
came,  "  Well,  it  just  means  killed."  "  Why  couldn't  they 
say  killed,  then  ?  "  said  live -years-old,  and  resumed  her 
singing.  The  child  of  eight  knew  better  than  many  adults, 
that  for  her  tender  little  sister  this  was  enough,  but  who  knows 
how  much  she  herself  had  suffered  in  gaining  that  knowledge  ? 

There  are  nowadays  many  most  helpful  books,  and  among 
them  are  those  that  have  been  written  for  the  reformed 
Sunday  Schools  of  different  denominations.  In  this  con- 
nexion, perhaps  a  word  of  protest  may  be  allowed. 

We  are  not,  of  course,  obliged  all  to  think  ahke,  but  it 
does  not  seem  to  me  that  the  ordinary  forms  of  expression, 
which  are  used  in  every  Kindergarten,  are  quite  the  right 
methods  in  which  to  express  what  lias  been  givci;  as  a  religious 
lesson.  The  right  form  of  expression  for  everything  ethical 
is  surely,  "  Go  thou  and  do  likewise."  The  story  of  the 
Child  in  the  manger  should  result  in  more  effort  to  do  loving 
service  for  the  mother  and  baby  at  home,  its  spirit  is  not 
expressed  in  free  drawing  or  modelling.  Our  own  children 
have  never  been  seen  to  go  to  the  sand  tray  to  represent  a 
Bible  story,  as  they  do  constantly  and  quite  spontaneously 
for  other  stories.  Assuredly  this  is  not  from  want  of  interest. 
Is  it  not  right  even  for  chilchcn  to  have  something  in  which 
they  breathe  a  different  and  a  rarer  atmosphere  ?  No  one 
would  interfere  with  the  spontaneous  representations  of 
children  unless  these  were  clearly  harmful.  But  that  a  class 
of  children  in  school  should  be  taught  to  act  out  the  Good 
Samaritan,  as  has  been  done,  grates  on  one's  feelings.  A 
touching  story  is  told  of  some  children,  one  of  whom  was 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT  41 

hopelessly  paralysed,  playing  at  Christ  curing  the  lepers. 
Suddenly  the  little  Christ  paused,  held  up  his  hand  and  said, 
"  Stop  !  Freddie,  I'm  going  to  cure  you.  '  Arise  and  walk  !  '  " 
There  was  bitter  disappointment  at  the  failure,  of  irreverence 
not  a  whit,  but  it  was  a  child's  own  thought  and  act.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  some  children  had  been  told  the  story 
of  Water  Babies,  it  was  a  young  teacher  who  set  them  to 
model  in  clay  the  chair  of  Mother  Carey,  thus  making  concrete 
what  should  never  have  been  materialized.  And  it  was  a 
young  child  who,  when  she  heard  how  Tom  found  Mother 
Carey  sitting  so  still,  and  she  explained  to  him  that  she  made 
things  make  themselves,  said  quickly,  "  Oh,  I  know  who 
that  was,  that  was  God." 

To  set  children,  for  instance,  to  model  a  horn  after  the 
story  of  the  anointing  of  the  shepherd  David  does  not  seem 
to  me  to  deepen  the  desired  impression.  The  story  t^lls  of 
an  ordinary  shepherd  boy,  suddenly  called  away  from  his 
daily  task  to  be  set  apart  for  a  great  work  for  his  people. 
Let  us  do  our  daily  work  well,  God  might  use  one  of  us,  is 
what  we  want  to  impress ;  the  horn  is  but  a  minor  matter, 
and  while  modelling,  how  can  we  keep  the  children's  minds 
from  wandering  to  all  sorts  of  things  ?  In  the  day  school, 
I  would  rather,  after  necessary  exercise,  pass  on  to 
something  recognized  as  work,  and  in  the  Sunday  school 
after,  perhaps,  singing,  "  Help  us  to  be  good,"  let  the  chil- 
dren go  home  to  try. 

The  learning  of  texts  by  rote  is  not  necessarily  part 
of  religious  teaching,  and  is  often  most  irreverent.  But 
the  learning  by  heart  of  all  beautiful  things  has  a  religious 
bearing.  "  Only  be  thou  strong  and  very  courageous," 
are  words  to  repeat  again  and  again  in  the  story  of 
Joshua.  The  words  of  Ruth  to  Naomi  are  perfect  in  their 
beauty  and  simplicity.  If  the  children  have  heard  the  story 
of  the  shepherd  boy  David,  then  is  the  time  to  teach  Psalm 
xxiii.,  and  there  is  a  booklet.  The  Song  oj  our  Syrian  Guest 
(Drummond's  Tract  Depot,  Stirling),  which  gives  beautiful 
and  enlightening  details  about  shepherd  life.  When  the 
story  of  the  Good  Samaritan  has  been  told,  then  is  the  time 
to  teach  the  first  and  greatest  commandment,  and  the  second 
which  is  like  unto  it,  the  two  commandments  on  which  hang 
all  the  law  and  the  prophets.  There  is  no  use  trying  to  teach 
to  little  children  the  whole  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  but 
the  first,  the  fifth,  sixth,  eighth  and  ninth,  and  even  the  tenth, 


42  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

can  be  explained  and  repeated  frequently,  till  they  are  fairly 
well  known.  Psalm  c.  is  easy,  and  can  be  learnt  at  any 
time,  especially  at  a  time  of  thanksgiving.  When  the  Israel- 
ites cross  the  Red  Sea,  Psalms  xxxiii.,  xxxiv.  and  xlvi.,  Ixxv. 
and  cxxiv.  can  be  read,  and  one  or  more  of  the  most  suitable 
passages  learnt,  e.g.,  "  Our  soul  is  escaped,  as  a  bird  out  of 
the  snare  of  the  fowler,  .  .  .  Our  help  standeth  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  who  hath  made  heaven  and  earth." 

This  little  article  is  far  from  complete,  and  it  is  intended 
to  be  far  more  suggestive  than  prescriptive.  The  beauty  of 
holiness  will  always  attract  far  more  than  the  fear  of  punish- 
ment will  deter.  There  is  a  German  word  Gott-emigkeit, 
Oneness  with  God,  which  appealed  to  Froebel  more  than  the 
word  Religion.  It  is  Oneness  with  God  that  we  seek  for  our 
children,  and  it  will  not  come  to  any  of  us  who  keep  our  religion 
apart  from  all  else.  It  will  at  least  come  nearer  to  those  who 
give  to  religion  the  meaning  Froebel  gave,  "  a  continually 
advancing  endeavour." 

E.  R.  Murray 


BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE 

The  Bible  for  Home  Reading,  Part  I.     C.  G.  Montefiore.     (Macmillan, 

4s.  td.  net.) 
Joseph  the  Dreamer.     Robert  Bird.     (Nelson  &  Son,  5s.) 
Jesus  the  Carpenter.     Robert  Bird.     (Nelson  &  Son,  is.) 
The  Jewish  Church.     Dean  Stanley.     (Murray,  3  vols.,  2s.  6i.  net.  each.) 
Help  in  Telling  Bible  Stories.     Isabel  Murray.     (Froebel  Society,  is.  6d. 

net.) 
Telling  Bible  Stories.     Louise  S.  Houghton.     (Bickers  &  Son,  3s.  gd. 

net.) 
The  Old  Testament  Story  Told  to  the  Young.     Gladys  Davidson.     (Werner 

Laurie,  6s.  net.) 
Stories  and  Story-Telling  in  Moral  and  Rrligiotis  Education.     Edward 

Porter  St.  Jolm.     (Pilgrim  Press,  Boston.) 
How  to  Tell  Stories  to  Children.     Sara  Cone  Bryant.     (Ilarrap  &  Co., 

2S.  6d.  net.) 
Suggestions  for  a  Syllabus  in  Religious  Teaching.     G.  B.  Ayre.     (Long- 
mans, Green  ct  Co.,  is.  net.) 
Bible  Manners  and  Customs.     G.  M.  Mackie.     (A.   &  C.  Black,  6d.) 
Egypt.     Peeps  at  Many  Lands  Series.     (A.  &  C.  Black,   is.  6d.] 
British  Museum  Guides,  The  Egyptian  Collection.     (Harrison  &  Sons, 

St.  Martin's  Lane,  is.) 
Froebel's  Mother  Songs,  trans,  by  F.  and  E.  Lord.     (William  Rice, 

2s.   Gd.) 
The  following  rhvmes  with  their  explanations  :    "  Mowing  Gra.ss," 
"  Pat-a-Cake."    "  The  Nest,"  "  The  Flower  Garden,"    "  The  Pigeon 


RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  AND  DEVELOPMENT  43 

House,"  "  The  Family,"  "  Brothers  and  Sisters,"  "  Boy  and  Moon," 
"  Light  Bird,"  "  The  Bridge,"  "  The  Knights,"  "  The  Church  Door," 
"  Closing  Thoughts." 

Froebel's  Education  of  Man,  trans.  Hailmann.  Sections  lo.ii,  21,  51,  60, 
61,  63,  64,  75,  88,  98,  99,  105. 


THE  HEALTH  OE  CHILDREN 

During  the  first  few  years  of  life  the  mother  is  the  most 
potent  agent  in  training  the  child.  She  inculcates  those 
habits  which  may  be  termed  fundamental,  since  on  them 
depends  the  welfare  of  the  child.  Such  are  the  habits  that 
impress  the  comfort  of  cleanliness,  the  regularity  of  meal  times 
and  of  bodily  functions,  and  that  determine  the  duration  of, 
and  time  for,  sleep. 

When  the  child  is  of  an  age  to  attend  school  the  teacher 
shares  with  the  mother  the  responsibility  for  its  well-being ; 
indeed,  upon  her  devolves  the  major  portion  of  the  respon- 
sibility, since  the  greater  part  of  the  child's  conscious  life  is 
passed  under  her  care.  The  child  now  leaves  the  freedom 
of  home  for  the  disciphne  of  school.  His  day  is  mapped  out 
for  him,  and  the  arrangement  if  a  judicious  one  will  render 
him  happier,  and  he  will  not  feel  this  life  of  control  irksome. 
It  is  for  the  teacher  to  remember  that  immature  muscle  and 
immature  nerve  cells  soon  tire  and  demand  frequent  change. 

KiGHT  Conditions  for  Healthy  Cpiildhood. 

Sleep. — Part  of  the  afternoon  session  in  the  lower  classes 
of  the  infant  school  should  be  given  over  to  sleep.  Children 
of  seven  years  of  age  and  under  need  at  least  thirteen  hours 
sleep  a  day.  Sleep  tiaiie  is  the  time  of  growth — it  is  then 
that  the  waste  products,  the  products  of  muscular  and  mental 
work,  are  removed.  The  heart  beat  is  then  quieter  and  less 
frequent,  since  less  force  is  needed  to  drive  the  blood  over 
the  recumbent  body,  and  the  breathing  is  slower  and  deeper. 
So  both  lieart  and  lungs,  as  well  as  brain,  get  more  rest.  Sleep, 
then,  must  be  sufficiently  long  and  if  jiossible  dreamless.  A 
child  can  better  stand  deprivation  of  food  than  curtailment  of 
the  hours  of  sleep.  In  both  cases  the  result  will  be  seen 
in  stunted  growth,  but  the  effect  will  be  more  marked  from 
loss  of  sleep. 


THE  HEALTH  OF  CHILDREN  45 

The  children  who  attend  the  Infants'  school  or  Kindergarten 
should  be  in  bed  at  six  o'clock  at  night.  The  hours  before 
midnight  are  the  most  valuable  ;  it  is  then  that  the  child  falls 
into  the  deepest  and  most  refreshing  sleep.  Many  children 
in  the  lower  classes  of  the  infants'  school  need  a  sleep  of  an 
hour's  duration  in  the  afternoon  ;  and  provision  should  be  made 
for  this.  In  some  schools  a  light  wooden  framework  has 
been  fitted  with  a  number  of  small  hammocks.  Such  an 
apparatus  is  easily  removed  and  easily  cleaned.  Some  chil- 
dren feel  no  need  for  this  rest ;  but  all  should  be  made  to  lie 
down  and  remain  quiet.  In  a  few  days'  time  it  will  be  found 
that  the  majority  fall  asleep.  Those  who  do  not  acquire 
the  sleep  habit  should  be  allowed  to  play  quietly. 

For  the  child  of  the  slum  this  siesta  is  often  an  urgent 
necessity.  At  night  he  either  sleeps  in  the  common  sitting 
room  or  shares  a  bedroom  with  adults.  In  the  first  case  his 
bed  will  not  be  prepared  until  a  late  hour,  because  it  must  not 
encroach  on  the  scanty  space,  and  in  the  second  case  his  sleep 
may  be  disturbed  by  the  entry  of  late  comers.  Sometimes 
the  child  is  locked  out  in  the  street  until  the  return  of  his 
mother  with  the  key.  Owing  to  such  untoward  circumstances 
rarely  does  he  get  an  adequate  amount  of  sleep.  The  after- 
noon nap  goes  to  make  up  the  deficit. 

The  position  taken  during  sleep  is  of  importance.  The 
child  should  rest  on  his  right  side.  If  he  rest  on  the  left 
the  work  of  the  heart  is  impeded.  If  he  sleep  on  his  back 
the  blood  tends  to  congest  in  the  region  of  the  spinal  cord, 
and  bad  dreams  will  be  the  result.  The  child  should  not  be 
allowed  to  sleep  in  a  sitting  posture  with  the  head  bent  over 
the  chest.  Such  a  position  impedes  breathing,  narrows  the 
chest  and  causes  headache. 

Food. — The  length  of  the  school  morning  fixes  to  some 
extent  the  time  for  meals.  It  would  be  well  here  if  cause  and 
result  could  change  places,  and  the  time  for  the  midday  meal 
fix  the  length  of  the  morning  session.  For  the  youth  of  fifteen 
five  hours  should  be  allowed  to  elapse  between  two  meals. 
Younger  children  should  be  given  meals  at  intervals  of  from 
four  to  four  and  a  half  hours.  If  the  child  rises  at  six  (the 
hour  at  which  most  children  wake),  he  must  have  breakfast 
no  later  than  half-past  seven.  This  fixes  the  dinner  hour 
at  twelve  or  half-past  twelve.  If  the  interval  between  meal 
times  be  too  long,  one  of  two  things  will  happen.  Either 
the   child   comes  to   table   so  hungry  that  he  "  bolts  "  his 


46  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

food,  or  he  comes  exhausted,  and  with  exhaustion  the  desire 
for  food  passes  away. 

One  of  the  faults  of  the  modern  school  is  that  it  places 
the  dinner  hour  too  late  in  the  day.  The  young  girl 
attending  a  High  School  gets  her  dinner  at  half-past  one, 
far  too  late  an  hour.  To  compensate  for  this  a  small 
luncheon  is  taken  about  eleven  o'clock  ;  but  with  well- 
arranged  meal  times  this  lunch  would  not  be  necessary. 
Many  Uttle  children,  however,  feel  the  need  of  such  a  light 
luncheon  as  a  small  mugful  of  milk  taken  about  ten  o'clock 
in  tlie  morning.  Some  digest  their  food  rapidly ;  others,  the 
nervous  ones,  make  but  poor  breakfasts.  Delicate  children 
such  as  those  who  have  a  tendency  to  rickets,  or  who  are 
prone  to  catch  cold,  derive  much  benefit  from  this  daily  feed 
of  milk.  It  gives  them  the  fat  they  need,  and  gives  it  in  a 
digestible  form. 

Neither  highly  seasoned  dishes  nor  fried  and  greasy  foods 
should  be  given.  They  are  indige  .tible  and  they  vitiate  the 
child's  palate,  causing  it  to  reject  plain,  wholesome  fare.  Some 
people  give  children  bread  fried  in  bacon  fat  instead  of  bread 
over  which  bacon  fat  has  been  pom'ed.  The  one  dish  is  indi- 
gestible, the  other  digestible  and  nutritious.  So  an  egg  that 
has  been  fried  has  far  less  food  value  than  one  that  has  been 
lightly  poached.  In  the  first  case  the  larger  part  of  the  white 
of  the  egg  has  been  converted  into  a  horny  material  that  will 
give  no  nourishment,  but  will,  on  the  other  hand,  irritate  the 
intestinal  tract. 

The  child's  craving  for  sweets  should  be  satisfied  ;  it  is  a 
natural  one.  He  needs  a  food  that  readily  supphes  him  with 
energy — sugar  is  such  a  food.  Sweets  should  be  taken  at 
meal  time,  preferably  at  the  end  of  the  midday  meal  after 
hunger  has  been  appeased.  The  sweets  given  should  be  of 
a  wholesome  kind,  such  as  toffee  or  chocolate.  Sweets  con- 
taining nuts  are  very  indigestible. 

Children  should  be  trained  to  eat  slowly,  and  to  chew  food 
thoroughly.  Food  well  crushed  by  the  teeth  is  easily  attacked 
by  the  various  digestive  juices.  Much  water  should  not  be 
drunk  at  meal  times,  it  should  rather  be  drunk  at  the  end 
of  a  meal.  The  child  is  inclined  to  drink  deeply,  so  distending 
the  stomach  with  water  that  it  is  unable  to  take  the  requisite 
amount  of  food.  Children  are  always  more  thirsty  than 
adults.  They  are  growing  fast,  and  water  is  needed  to  aid 
in    the    tissue   changes   that   are  occurring.      Most  of  the 


THE  HEALTH  OF  CHILDREN  47 

children  in  the  Infants'  School  need  a  drink  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon.  They  should  be  trained  to  drink 
slowly,  \^'ater  hastily  gulped  does  not  quench  thirst,  and 
the  restraining  of  the  desire  to  drink  greedily  is  an  effort  of 
self-control.  Cocoa  is  the  only  form  of  stimulant  which 
should  be  given  to  children,  as  its  stimulating  properties  are 
mild,  and  it  has  definite  food  value. 

In  some  of  the  poorer  districts  of  our  large  towns  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  see  a  child  making  an  alfresco  meal  of  bread 
and  jam.  This  is  but  a  poor  meal.  Jam  is  no  substitute  for 
butter  or  dripping.  Fat  in  some  form  is  an  essential  part  of 
a  child's  diet,  and  if  it  be  omitted  the  child  will  develop  rickets. 
A  child  suffering  from  this  disease  is  known  by  a  pale  face, 
stunted  growth,  thin  dry  hair,  swollen  wrists  and  ankle  joints, 
prominent  abdomen,  tlat  feet  and  bowed  legs.  He  is  prone 
to  catch  cold.  Sometimes  the  voice  becomes  thin  and  weak, 
and  the  child  will  appear  so  dull  that  the  teacher  classes  him 
among  those  who  are  mentally  deficient.  Only  in  extreme 
cases  however  will  a  child  exhibit  all  these  symptoms.  The 
probable  origin  of  the  trouble  is  some  digestive  disturbance 
caused  by  injudicious  or  insufficient  feeding  and  it  is  thought 
to  arise  from  a  lack  of  fat  in  the  diet.  The  remedy  is  to 
add  some  easily  digested  fat  to  the  child's  daily  fare ;  such  a 
fat  is  cod  liver  oil  or  cream.  The  child  should  have  plenty 
of  milk  to  drink  ;  the  red  gravy  from  the  meat  should  be 
reserved  for  him.  Twice  or  thrice  a  week  he  should  be 
given  a  lightly  boiled  egg.  He  should  be  warmly  clad,  and 
hve  as  much  as  possible  in  the  open  air. 

Habits.— One  of  the  fundamental  habits  that  should  be 
formed  during  infancy  is  regularity  in  the  bodily  functions. 
Never  should  a  child  be  suffered  to  become  constipated.  If, 
at  any  time,  this  state  should  arise  the  mother  must 
carefully  diet  the  child.  An  apple  eaten  before  break- 
fast, whole-meal  bread,  stewed  fruit  all  act  as  correctives. 
Castor  oil  is  a  safe  drug  to  administer.  It  acts  as  a  lubricant, 
making  it  easy  for  the  congested  material  to  pass  along  the 
intestines.  Sometimes  constipation  is  caused  by  a  dehciency 
of  fat  in  the  diet,  the  fat  being  needed  to  act  as  a  lubricant. 
Sometimes  the  condition  is  due  to  want  of  exercise. 

The  child  who  suffers  from  this  complaint  is  known  by  a 
sallow  skin  and  dark,  puffy  lower  eyelids.  Material  that 
should  have  been  excreted  has  been  reabsorbed  into  the 
system,  and  is  the  cause  of  the  unwholesome  appearance. 


48  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

The  child  will  be  lethargic,  will  be  subject  to  headaches,  and 
its  sleep  will  be  disturbed  by  dreams.  If  the  condition  be 
not  altered,  other  and  more  pronounced  troubles  will  follow. 

A  fairly  common  childish  ailment  during  summer  time  is 
diarrhcea.  In  this  case  the  food  is  hurried  through  the  diges- 
tive tract  and  sufficient  nourishment  is  not  absorbed.  The 
cause  of  the  trouble  should  be  ascertained.  If  it  is  due  to 
an  error  in  diet,  say  the  taking  of  unripe  fruit,  a  dose  of  castor 
oil  should  be  given  to  remove  the  irritant.  After  this  treat- 
ment the  intestines  will  often  return  to  their  normal  conditions 
with  perhaps  the  lapse  of  a  day.  If  the  trouble  continues, 
a  food  should  be  given  that  is  so  readily  assimilated  that  it 
leaves  httle  to  be  expelled.  Such  a  food  is  arrowroot.  The 
intestinal  tract  is  thus  given  little  work  to  do,  and  is  given 
time  to  regain  its  tone.  In  cases  of  prolonged  diarrhoea 
the  child  may  become  so  exhausted  that  it  is  hardly  able  to 
take  nourishment.  A  strengthening  food  that  may  be 
administered  in  this  case  is  made  of  white  of  egg  solution. 
Two  whites  of  eggs  are  poured  into  a  half  pint  of  water, 
a  pinch  of  salt  and  a  teaspoonful  of  brandy  are  added  to 
the  mixture.  This  food  may  be  given  at  short  intervals  of 
time. 

Cleanliness. — Another  fundamental  habit  that  can  be 
fostered  at  school  is  the  desire  for  personal  cleanliness.  All 
the  surroundings  of  the  child  should  express  order,  and  should 
be  kept  scrupulously  clean.  The  child  who  comes  to  school 
unwashed  and  untidy  must  be  made  to  realize  that  he  is 
"  out  of  the  picture  "  in  that  class  room. 

In  large  families  it  is  the  work  of  the  elder  children  to 
wash  and  dress  the  younger  ones.  The  proper  performance 
of  this  might  well  be  taught  practically  to  the  children  of  the 
upper  standards  in  the  course  of  the  lessons  on  mother-craft. 
It  would  impress  upon  them  the  importance  and  dignity  of 
the  work.  They  should  understand  the  need  for  delicate 
handling  of  the  ear,  and  for  keeping  the  nasal  passage  free. 
If  this  last  fact  were  emphasized,  the  number  of  children 
suffering  from  adenoids  would  be  lessened. 

Dress. — The  difficulty  to  be  faced  here  is  to  supply  a  dress 
that  will  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  child  and  be  within  the 
purchasing  power  of  a  slender  purse. 

The  mother  requires  that  the  fabric  may  be  durable  and 
easily  washed,  and  that  the  number  of  garments  may  be 
as  few  as  possible  compatible  with  v/armth.     The  fewer  the 


THE  HEALTH   OF  CHILDREN  49 

number  of  garments  the  less  the  amount  of  mending,  and 
the  fewer  garments  will  there  be  in  the  weekly  wash. 

The  English  cHmate  is  changeable,  and  the  material  chosen 
for  wear  next  the  skin  should  prevent  the  wearer  suffering 
from  the  variations  in  the  weather.  Wool  is  thought  to 
be  the  best  material  for  the  purpose.  It  is  a  non-conductor 
of  heat,  and  so  will  not  permit  the  bodily  heat  to  be  dissi- 
pated. It  is  elastic,  and  adapts  itself  to  the  shape  of  the 
wearer.  It  is  hygroscopic,  and  by  taking  up  the  water  of 
perspiration  saves  the  body  from  becoming  chilled  after 
vigorous  exercise  and  in  hot  weather.  Wool  is  costly  to  buy  : 
but  washed  carefully,  it  is  durable  and  therefore  cheap  in 
the  long  run. 

For  a  girl  the  following  dress  will  satisfy  all  requirements  : — 

A  knitted  woollen  vest  coming  down  well  over  the  hips 
and  having  sleeves.  Such  a  vest  the  child  is  taught  to 
knit  at  school.  A  pair  of  dark  serge  knickers  held  into  the 
waist  by  an  elastic  band.  These  should  be  provided  with 
removable  washable  hnings.  Flannelette  is  inflammable 
and  should  not  be  used  for  outer  garments,  but  used  for 
hnings  under  the  knickers  there  can  be  little  danger  of  its 
catching  fire.  A  serge  skirt  attached  to  a  petticoat  bodice 
and  worn  with  a  woollen  jersey  forms  the  over  dress.  A 
washable  pinafore  should  always  be  worn.  In  summer  time 
a  cotton  smock  could  replace  the  serge  skirt  and  jersey. 

Foot  gear  is  important.  Chilled  and  wet  feet  are  responsible 
for  many  serious  colds. 

Worsted  or  woollen  stockings  should  be  worn.  Good  boots 
are  expensive,  and  yet  to  buy  cheap  boots  is  false  economy. 
The  clogs  of  the  North  country  children  are  cheap  and 
durable,  but  they  are  noisy. 

In  the  schools  of  the  future,  arrangements  might  be  made 
for  the  children  to  change  their  clogs,  on  coming  to  school, 
for  a  pair  of  the  string-soled  shoes  worn  by  Spanish  peasants. 
These  are  cheap  and  light,  almost  soundless,  and  are  pliant 
to  the  growing  foot  of  the  child.  Children  could  be  taught 
to  walk  gracefully  in  such  shoes. 

The  boy  needs  a  woollen  vest  similar  to  that  worn  by  the 
girl.  His  serge  knickers  should  be  supported  by  braces  and 
have  removable  hnings.  He  should  wear  a  flannel  or  flannel- 
ette shirt  and  a  woollen  jersey.  His  foot-gear  will  be  similar 
to  that  worn  by  the  girl. 

The  part  of  the  dress  often  omitted  is  the  knicker  lining, 

£ 


50  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

and  this  is  a  most  essential  part.  Commonly  the  serge 
knickers  are  worn  many  weeks,  sometimes  months,  before 
they  are  washed.  If  they  are  worn  next  the  skin  they  must 
become  fouled  on  the  inner  surface.  This  renders  them 
harsh,  and  they  will  chafe  the  child.  Rarely  will  the  child 
be  unconscious  of  the  irritation  caused  by  them.  This 
condition  is  often  the  origin  of  the  malpractice  to  which  some 
little  boys  are  addicted. 

Some  of  the  Common  Ailments  of  Childhood. 

Adenoids.  Many  children  are  afflicted  with  a  growth  of 
glandular  tissue  in  that  part  of  the  air  passage  that  hes  behind 
the  nose  and  soft  palate.  This  growth  is  known  as  adenoids. 
It  may  so  close  the  passage  through  the  nose  as  to  cause  the 
child  to  talk  as  if  he  had  a  cold  in  the  head.  It  often  blocks 
the  opening  of  the  tube  that  leads  from  the  throat  to  the  ear, 
and  so  causes  partial  deafness.  By  broadening  the  face  near 
the  bridge  of  the  nose  and  so  obliterating  curves,  and  by  forcing 
the  child  to  keep  his  mouth  open,  it  gives  him  a  stupid,  vacant 
look.  It  presses  upon  certain  bloodvessels,  lessening  the 
supply  of  blood  to  the  head,  with  the  result  that  the  child 
becomes  as  dull  as  he  looks,  and  he  suffers  from  headaches. 
Adenoids  are  often  accompanied  by  enlarged  tonsils,  and  these, 
by  further  blocking  up  the  air  passage,  render  breathing 
still  more  difficult.  Children  suffering  from  tliese  growths 
are  troubled  with  colds  in  the  head  and  chest  ailments.  The 
whole  tone  of  the  child  is  lowered  by  them.  Fortunately  a 
small  operation  will  remove  them.  As  a  consequence  of  the 
operation,  the  child  will  be  ill  for  a  day  or  two  only,  but 
the  improvement  that  will  then  take  place  in  its  health,  ap- 
pearance and  mental  capacity  is  often  httle  short  of  astound- 
ing. The  growth  may  recur  ;  as  a  rule,  it  does  not.  Apart 
from  any  question  of  an  operation  the  growth  of  adenoids 
may  be  checked,  and  mav  even  be  prevented  altouether 
by  making  the  child  breathe  through  its  nose.  As  the  air 
passes  through  the  nose  dust  particles  are  removed  from  it 
by  tlie  minute  hairs  found  within  the  nose  ;  the  gummy 
secretion  of  the  nose  acts  as  a  germicide,  and  the  air  is  warmed 
and  rendered  sufficiently  moist. 

To  keep  the  nusal  passage  free  the  mother  must  cleanse  the 
infant's  nostrils  each  day,  and  the  teacher  in  the  Infants' 
School  must  make  all  the  children  in  her  class  blow  their  noses 
once  or  twice  each  day. 


THE   HEALTH  OF  CHILDREN  51 

There  are  always  some  cases  of  adenoids  in  every  large  school, 
and  considering  how  a  child  may  be  handicapped  mentally 
and  physically  by  the  continuance  of  the  growth,  teachers 
should  make  it  their  business  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  symptoms  of  the  disease.  Any  child  who  often  suffers 
from  cold  in  the  head,  or  who  shows  two  or  three  of  the  signs 
given,  should  be  examined  by  the  school  doctor. 

Gatherings  and  Swollen  Glands.  Whenever  harmful 
germs  find  entry  into  the  tissues  the  part  affected  becomes 
swollen  and  inflamed.  Here  a  battle  is  in  progress  between 
the  germs  and  certain  cells  in  the  body.  If  the  germs  win 
the  day  the  inflammation  and  swelling  extend  ;  if  the  cells 
triumph  the  germs  disappear  since  the  cells  devour  them. 
We  can  come  to  the  aid  of  these  cells  by  cleansing  the  wound, 
and  by  treating  it  with  an  antiseptic  lotion.  In  the  first 
place  we  free  it  from  that  material  in  which  the  germs  multiply ; 
in  the  second  case  we  aid  in  killing  the  germs. 

If  the  inflammation  appears  below  the  skin,  and  is  not 
deep  seated,  it  is  easy  to  deal  with.  The  part  can  be  washed 
with  warm  water  to  which  has  been  added  boric  acid  powder, 
a  teaspoonful  to  every  pint  of  boiling  water,  or  a  3  per  cent, 
solution  of  lysol  may  be  used.  In  neither  case  should  the 
solution  be  hot  enough  to  burn  the  child.  A  piece  of  medi- 
cated hnt  that  has  been  dipped  in  the  clean  hot  solution 
should  be  placed  over  the  sore,  and  kept  in  position  by  a 
light,  firm  bandage.  A  small  gathering  should  be  dressed 
night  and  morning.  The  lotion  that  has  once  been  used 
should  be  thrown  away,  and  the  lint  should  be  burnt ;  neither 
should  be  used  again.  In  most  cases  the  gathering  will  heal 
in  two  or  three  days.  If  it  occurs  in  a  limb,  and  the  part  is 
very  swollen  and  painful,  it  would  be  well  to  put  the  hmb  in 
a  sling  to  prevent  its  being  used.  Antiseptic  treatment  and 
rest  will  probably  effect  a  cure. 

Some  children  are  prone  to  swelling  in  the  glands  of  the 
neck.  Here,  again,  is  evidence  of  the  entry  of  harmful 
germs.  The  glands  have  retained  the  germs,  thus  preventing 
them  from  passing  into  the  blood  stream  and  being  distributed 
over  the  body.  Within  the  glands  are  numbers  of  those  cells 
that  devour  germs.  The  fact  that  the  glands  have  swollen 
shows  that  so  far  the  germs  are  getting  the  better  in  the  fight. 

The  germs  that  infect  the  glands  of  the  neck  come  there 
by  way  of  the  mouth.  Chilaren  who  are  mouth  breathers 
are  more  hkely  to  be  attacked  than  those  who  breathe  through 


52  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

the  nose.     Or  the  germs  may  have  been  put  into  the  mouth 
on  a  dirty  "  comforter." 

The  child  affected  should  live  an  open-air  life  and  sleep 
in  a  room  with  windows  wide.  He  should  be  given  plenty 
of  nourishing  food,  such  as  fresh  milk,  cream,  eggs,  be  warmly 
clad  and  have  sufficient  sleep.  On  no  account  should  the  glands 
be  rubbed.  To  do  so  would  be  to  inflame  them  still  more. 
The  child  should  sleep  by  himself,  as  there  is  fear  of  his  in- 
fecting those  who  come  in  close  contact  with  him,  and  he  will  not 
have  such  fresh  air  if  others  live  in  the  same  room  with  him. 

Ophthalmia. — This  is  the  name  given  by  most  people  to 
the  inflammation  of  the  thin  skin  covering  the  eye  and  hning 
the  eyelids.  As  this  skin  is  very  sensitive,  a  rough  cold  wind 
will  cause  it  to  inflame,  or  it  may  be  inflamed  by  overstrain 
of  the  eye.  Children  who  are  in  a  poor  state  of  health  through 
insufficiency  of  food  or  of  fresh  air  are  most  likely  to  be 
sufferers.  The  inflammation  is  often  accompanied  by  a 
discharge  which  mats  the  eyelashes  together.  Sometimes 
the  lashes  fall  out  and  the  eyelids  become  swollen  at  the 
edges.  If  the  condition  becomes  chronic  the  ej'elids  will 
permanently  assume  red,  swollen  edges. 

The  eyes  may  be  bathed  with  a  weak  solution  of  an  anti- 
septic lotion.  The  child  must  be  seen  by  a  doctor.  If  the 
inflammation  is  not  arrested  it  may  extend  to  the  cornea, 
the  clear  transparent  tissue  through  which  rays  of  hght  pass 
to  the  interior  of  the  eye,  and  the  cornea  may  be  rendered 
partially  or  wholly  opaque,  bringing  partial  or  entire  blindness 
to  the  eye. 

The  discharge  from  affected  eyes  is  extremely  contagious, 
and  the  disease  spreads  rapidly  through  a  school.  The  child 
who  is  suffering  rubs  its  smarting  eyes  with  its  fingers,  and 
then  handles  some  book  or  piece  of  apparatus  that  another 
cliild  will  handle  later  on  ;  or  the  child  uses  the  washing 
basin  and  towel  that  is  common  to  a  number  of  children. 
Thus  the  disease  is  spread.  Children  who  show  signs  of 
ophthalmia  must  be  excluded  from  school. 

Defective  Eyesight. — When  the  vision  of  children  in  a 
school  is  tested  the  examiner  finds  that  the  number  of  cases 
of  short-sightedness  increases  steadily  as  he  passes  from  the 
classes  in  the  Infants'  School  to  those  of  the  upper  standards. 
There  is  nothing  inherent  in  the  eye  causing  this  rapid 
deterioration.  It  is  our  business  to  find  out  the  conditions 
that  are  responsible  and  alter  them. 


THE  HEALTH  OF  CHILDREN  53 

The  young  child  is  long-sighted  :  he  sees  best  those  objects 
which  are  twenty  feet  and  more  away.  To  see  nearer  objects 
certain  muscles  are  brought  into  action.  Attached  to  the 
eyeball  are  three  sets  of  muscles  that  turn  it  within  the  socket. 
When  near  objects  are  viewed  the  muscles  that  turn  the  eye 
towards  the  nose  are  contracted.  If  the  child  looks  at  things 
that  are  very  near  he  squints. 

This  pull  of  the  muscle  puts  a  strain  upon  the  tough,  white 
coat  of  the  eye,  the  sclerotic,  to  which  one  end  of  each  muscle 
is  attached.  In  youth,  the  tissue  of  which  this  coat  is  com- 
posed will  yield  to  constantly  recurring  or  continued  strain, 
and  the  eyeball  will  be  stretched.  This  elongation  of  the 
eyeball  places  the  sensitive  retina  on  which  the  rays  of  light 
fall,  out  of  focus  for  rays  from  a  distant  object.  Concave 
lenses  must  in  such  case  be  worn  to  aid  the  eyes. 

It  is  evident  that  children  must  not  be  given  occupations  that 
exact  near  eye  work  if  the  eyesight  is  to  be  preserved.  Young 
children,  if  taught  to  read  at  all,  which  is  a  doubtful  advantage, 
should  be  taught  to  read  from  the  blackboard.  If  coloured 
chalks  are  to  be  used  they  should  be  light  in  tone.  Children's 
books  should  be  printed  in  clear,  bold  type  (double  pica), 
upon  cream-tinted  paper.  The  reading  lessons  for  young 
children  when  books  are  employed  should  not  last  longer 
than  ten  minutes.  Drawings  should  be  made  with  chalk 
held  at  arm's  length.  Children  up  to  six  years  of  age  should 
not  be  made  to  write  between  ruled  lines,  nor  should  they 
be  taught  needlework  or  knitting. 

Certain  signs  show  that  a  child's  eyesight  is  not  good. 
He  suffers  from  headaches  ;  he  frowns  and  knits  his  brows  ; 
peers  or  squints  at  his  work.  Sometimes  he  holds  his  head 
to  one  side  and  looks  with  half-closed  eyes.  He  makes  mis- 
takes when  reading  from  the  blackboard.  For  a  time  he 
reads  well,  then  mistakes  occur,  and  the  mistakes  become 
more  frequent.  This  is  not  due  to  inattention,  but  to  fatigue 
in  some  of  the  eye  muscles.  He  complains  that  the  letters 
dance. 

If  a  child  often  suffers  from  headache  or  shows  any  of  the 
sj^Tnptoms  named  above,  the  teacher  must  test  his  e5^esight. 
Each  teacher  should  keep  a  card  printed  with  two  lines  of 
different  kinds  of  type,  of  a  size  and  clearness  that  can  be  read 
by  a  person  with  normal  eyesight  at  distances  of  twenty  feet  and 
forty  feet  respectively.  This  card  must  be  kept  out  of  sight 
of  the  children,  lest  they  become  familiar  with  the  letters. 


54  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

It  must  be  kept  clean.  When  used  for  testing  it  should  be 
placed  in  a  good  light,  and  the  child  to  be  tested  should 
stand  at  a  distance  of  twenty  feet  from  it.  He  should  be 
questioned  as  to  the  letters  of  the  smaller  type.  Should 
he  answer  correctly  he  may  be  classed  as  having  good  sight. 
If  he  fail,  he  should  be  tried  with  the  line  of  larger  type. 
Should  he  pass  this  test,  he  may  be  classed  as  "  second  "  as 
regards  sight.  Should  he  fail  to  read  both  lines  he  may  be 
ranked  in  the  third  class. 

Children  with  either  second  or  third  class  eyesight  must  be 
seen  hv  the  doctor  as  soon  as  possible.  They  should  be  placed 
near  the  front  of  the  class  and  excused  from  lessons  that 
involve  near  eye-work.  Children  who  rank  as  "  third  class  " 
should  be  taught  in  special  schools  where  manual  work  takes 
a  prominent  place  in  the  curriculum,  and  in  which  little 
writing  or  reading  is  done.  By  such  treatment  these  children 
may  be  saved  from  drifting  into  the  ranks  of  the  blind. 

Defective  Hearing. — The  child  who  is  deficient  in  hearing 
is  generally  inattentive.  Perhaps  in  the  past  he  tried  to  hear, 
but  has  been  discouraged  into  wilful  inattention.  He  has 
rather  a  vacant  look.  Lessons  that  are  interesting  to  others 
do  not  appeal  to  him.  Sometimes  in  an  effort  to  hear  he 
sits  with  his  mouth  open,  turning  the  less  deaf  ear  towards 
the  speaker.  He  asks  that  words  and  sentences  may  be 
repeated.     He,  himself,  repeats  incorrectly. 

The  child's  hearing  should  be  tested  by  the  teacher  in  a 
quiet  room.  The  teacher  must  first  find  out  how  far  away 
a  child  with  normal  hearing  may  stand  and  yet  hear  her 
whisper.  The  child  to  be  tested  is  to  stand  at  this  distance, 
with  her  back  turned  to  the  teacher.  The  teacher  will  then 
whisper  distinctly  such  words  as  twenty-two,  forty-nine, 
any  word  that  has  forceful  consonants,  and  the  child  must 
write  down  or  repeat  the  words  whispered.  Each  ear  is  to 
be  tested  separately  ;  a  small  pad  of  cotton  wool  should  be 
placed  in  the  ear  that  is  not  tested,  and  the  child  must  be  told 
to  close  its  mouth. 

The  teacher  must  ascertain  the  distance  at  which  the  child 
can  hear,  and  report  to  the  doctor. 

The  deafness  may  be  due  to  a  collection  of  hardened  wax 
in  the  ear.  The  child  should  be  told  to  lean  its  head  on  its 
hand,  so  that  the  affected  ear  comes  uppermost.  Into  this 
the  teacher  should  then  pour  a  few  drops  of  warm,  not  hot 
sweet  oil.    1  his  will  soften  the  wax,  which  can  then  be  removed 


THE  HEALTH   OF  CHILDREN  55 

by  syringing.  The  doctor  or  school  nurse  should  do  the 
S5'ringing.  The  amateur  nurse  may  inflict  serious  injury 
upon  the  child. 

An  attack,  of  measles  or  scarlet  fever,  or  a  throat  affection, 
is  not  uncommonly  followed  by  inflammation  of  the  middle 
ear.  This  has  reached  the  ear  from  the  throat  by  way  of  the 
Eustachian  tube.  It  is  attended  with  much  pain,  and  there 
is  usually  a  discharge  from  the  outer  ear.  This  shows  that 
the  membrane  which  divides  the  outer  from  the  middle  ear,  and 
which  acts  as  a  receiver  of  sound  waves,  has  been  pierced. 
A  child  who  has  discharge  from  the  ear  should  be  seen  by  the 
doctor  as  soon  as  possible.  Serious  results  may  follow  neglect. 
The  hearing  of  that  ear  may  be  lost,  and  the  brain  may  be 
affected. 

Sometimes  deafness  arises  from  a  defective  hearing  appar- 
atus. In  some  cases  there  are  outward  signs  of  this  in  mal- 
formed outer  ears.  Children  who  are  deaf  must  attend  the 
special  school  where  they  will  be  taught  lip-reading.  Chil- 
dren who  have  learned  lip-reading  are  often  known  by  their 
particularly  bright,  animated  appearance ;  for  directly  a 
means  of  communicating  with  them  has  been  estabhshed, 
the  vacant  expression  gives  way  to  one  of  intelligence. 

Bleeding  at  the  Nose. — Cases  of  this  kind  are  most  hkely 
to  occur  during  hot  summer  weather.  The  child  should  be 
taken  to  a  quiet  room  and  placed  in  a  rechning  chair.  A 
pad  of  cold  wet  rag  placed  on  the  bridge  of  the  nose  and 
something  cold  at  the  nape  of  the  neck  will  often  stop  the 
bleeding;  raising  the  arm  above  the  head  also  helps  to 
check  it.  The  child  should  not  be  allowed  to  bend  forward 
over  a  basin,  and  it  should  be  discouraged  from  blowing  its 
nose  just  then,  as  both  actions  tend  to  bring  the  blood  to  the 
nose.  If  the  bleeding  continues,  the  child  must  be  seen  by 
the  doctor.  Sometimes  the  bleeding  is  caused  by  constipa- 
tion ;  the  child  needs  a  purgative. 

Sprains  and  Bruises. — These  should  be  bathed  with  water 
as  hot  as  can  be  borne.  This  treatment  is  good  when  the 
harm  is  recent.  After  this  cold  wet  rags  may  be  applied. 
For  a  sprain  a  firm,  not  tight,  bandage  will  do  much  to  reduce 
the  swelling  and  give  support  to  the  injured  part.  Rest  is 
an  absolute  necessity  for  a  sprain. 

Children  rarely  hurt  themselves  when  they  tumble.  If  a 
child  is  sick  after  a  fall  it  should  be  made  to  he  down  in  a 
quiet  room,  and  cold  wet  rags  should  be  put  upon  its  head. 


56  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

If  it  remains  dazed  by  the  fall  a  doctor  should  De  sent  for. 
It  is  suffering  from  more  or  less  severe  concussion  of  the 
brain. 

Burns  and  Scalds. — A  bottle  of  Carron  oil  should  alwa3^s 
be  at  hand  for  the  treatment  of  burns  and  scalds.  This  is 
made  by  mixing  equal  quantities  of  linseed  oil  and  Ume  w  ater. 
If  the  injury  is  severe  the  clothes  should  not  be  drawn  or 
pulled  off  the  damaged  part.  They  should  be  cut  away. 
Lint  soaked  in  Carron  oil  should  be  applied,  and  over  this 
should  be  put  a  layer  of  cotton  wool,  and  these  dressings 
should  be  kept  in  place  by  a  hght  bandage. 

The  burn  has  been  a  nervous  shock  to  the  child,  who  must 
be  kept  as  quiet  as  possible. 

Cold  in  the  Head. — People  are  too  prone  to  regard 
nasal  catarrh  from  the  fatalist's  point  of  view.  It  comes  : 
it  must  be  endured.  This  is  wrong.  The  recurrence  can  be 
prevented,  the  intensity  diminished  by  the  use  of  a  nasal 
douche  and  warm  salt  water.  The  nasal  douche  is  small, 
cheap,  and  easily  used.  The  douching  does  not  take  five 
minutes,  and  is  not  unpleasant.  If  those  who  are  frequent 
sufferers  would  use  the  douche  once  a  week,  they  would  be 
surprised  to  find  what  immunity  it  gave  them  from  this  un- 
pleasant malady.  Frequent  colds  in  the  head  cause  a  thicken- 
ing of  the  mucous  membrane  lining  the  nose,  and  this  in  its 
turn  will  make  colds  in  the  head  more  frequent. 

Infectious  Diseases. — The  infectious  diseases  most  com- 
mon to  childhood  are  measles,  whooping  cough,  chicken  pox 
and  scarlet  fever.  The  premonitory  signs  of  these  are  cold 
in  the  head,  headache  and  sickness,  and  a  rise  in  temperature. 
All  of  them  are  infectious  in  the  early  stages,  when  as 
yet  no  rash  has  appeared. 

Measles. — An  epidemic  of  measles  occurs  in  our  large 
towns  every  two  years  or  so.  It  breaks  out  most  violently 
in  the  Infants'  School,  where  the  children  from  three  to  six 
years  of  age  fall  victims.  Most  of  the  elder  children  have 
been  through  an  attack,  and  this  has  rendered  them  im- 
mune for  the  future.  The  majority  of  people  are  infected 
once  in  their  lives. 

When  an  epidemic  occurs,  the  cliildren  to  be  most  closely 
watched  are  those  whose  medical  record  shows  that  they 
have  not  yet  been  infected.  Herein  lies  the  importance  of 
keeping  a  medical  record.  At  such  a  time  these  children 
should  be  excluded  from  school  if  they  show  signs  of  a  bad 


THE  HEALTH  OF  CHILDREN  57 

cold  in  the  head.  Every  fresh  case  acts  as  a  new  centre  of 
infection. 

Children  in  the  convalescent  stage  need  especial  care. 
They  are  prone  to  such  chest  troubles  as  bronchitis  and 
pneumonia. 

Whooping  Cough.— The  child  who  has  caught  whooping 
cough  does  not  always  give  the  characteristic  in-drawn 
"  whoop."  For  some  time  he  appears  to  be  suffering  from 
a  bad  cold.  He  occasionally  coughs,  and  these  coughs  become 
more  frequent  and  more  prolonged  as  the  disease  pro- 
gresses. He  may  cough  until  he  is  sick.  During  the  whole 
of  this  period  he  is  very  infectious.  Children  who  have 
sudden  violent  fits  of  coughing  should  set  the  teacher  on 
the  alert. 

Scarlet  Fever. — The  premonitory  signs  of  scarlet  fever 
are  those  we  associate  with  a  bihous  attack.  The  child  has  a 
cold  and  a  headache.  He  is  feverish  and  feels  drowsy. 
Sometimes  he  vomits.     The  throat  is  usually  sore. 

After  scarlet  fever,  as  after  measles,  the  child  needs  the 
greatest  care.  Chest  troubles,  inflammation  of  the  middle 
ear,  kidney  disease  are  among  the  ills  that  may  come  through 
neglect  during  convalescence.  Again,  let  us  utter  a  word 
of  warning  as  to  the  danger  of  using  the  eyes  much  while 
they  are  still  in  a  weak  state.  Short-sightedness  is  sure  to 
result  from  it. 

We  can  see  how  much  these  diseases  affect  children  if  we 
notice  the  teeth  of  a  child  who  had  a  bad  attack  of  fever  about 
the  sixth  year  of  age — that  is,  during  the  period  of  dentition. 
The  teeth  will  probably  show  a  transverse  ridge,  denoting 
arrested  development  at  this  period.  The  teeth  are  not  the 
only  parts  of  the  body  affected.  All  the  system  suffers  at 
the  time.  And  yet  we  still  meet  mothers  who  dilate  on  the  fore- 
thought they  showed  when  they  allowed  an  infected  child  to 
associate  with  those  of  the  family  who  as  yet  had  escaped.  They 
explain  that  in  this  way  they  were  saved  much  trouble 
and  expense,  as  the  course  of  infection  was  expedited,  and  the 
same  physic  and  diet  were  equally  good  for  all  the  sufferers. 
They  are  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  every  illness  from  which 
a  child  suffers  lowers  its  vitahty,  and  that  the  danger  is  not 
past  when  the  period  of  convalescence  is  reached.  With 
one  child  ill  and  another  convalescing  at  the  same  time,  how 
can  the  mother  give  to  both  the  care  they  need  ?  The 
children  pay  for  the  mother's  lack  of  knowledge. 


58  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

The  Cleaning  of  the  Schoolroom. 

Every  schoolroom  should  be  swept  daily.  Dry  sweeping 
is  to  be  condemned ;  it  sends  a  cloud  of  dust  into  the  upper 
layers  of  the  air,  and  this  settles  on  walls,  furniture  and  fioor. 
Sawdust  should  be  scattered  over  the  floor  before  sweep- 
ing begins.  This  sawdust  should  have  been  watered  some 
hours  previously,  so  that  it  may  be  thoroughly  damp ;  and 
the  sawdust  and  dust  that  are  swept  up  should  be  burnt. 
Dusting  should  be  done  with  a  damp  duster,  and  this  duster 
should  be  washed  after  it  has  been  used.  To  let  it  dry  is  to 
set  free  some  of  the  dust  upon  it.  After  the  floor  has 
been  swept  it  should  be  wiped  with  a  wet  mop  that  has  been 
dipped  into  a  disinfectant  solution. 

The  schoolroom  windows  should  be  flung  wide  both  evening 
and  morning,  so  that  the  children  come  into  fresh  and  not  into 
stale  air.  Many  caretakers  keep  the  windows  shut  after  the 
room  has  been  dusted,  for  fear  that  dust  may  blow  in  and 
necessitate  a  second  dusting  of  the  room.  1  he  teacher  might 
arrange  for  a  child  to  do  this  second  dusting,  provided  that 
the  room  were  aired.  Windows  should  be  more  often 
cleaned  than  is  usually  the  case.  They  should  be  cleaned 
as  soon  as  they  are  dirty.  How  much  light  a  dirty  window 
can  arrest  the  amateur  photographer  can  ascertain  when  he 
prints  from  behind  a  dirty  and  a  clear  window  respectively. 

During  the  long  holidays  the  whole  school  should  be  dis- 
infected. 'I  he  walls  should  be  spraj'ed  from  below  upwards 
with  a  forty  per  cent,  solution  of  formalin.  By  spraying  in 
this  way  the  walls  become  damped  equally  all  over,  and  are 
not  disfigured  or  damaged  by  streams  of  the  solution.  The 
furniture  and  floor  should  be  washed  with  hot  soapy  water 
to  which  a  small  amount  of  paraffin  has  been  added — two 
or  three  tablespoonfuls  to  a  bucket  of  water. 

After  an  epidemic  in  addition  to  this  cleansing,  all  books 
and  school  apparatus  should  be  disinfected.  Modelhng 
clay  should  be  first  burnt  and  then  thrown  away.  Here  is 
one  of  its  advantages  over  plasticine.  It  is  so  cheap  that 
the  sacrifice  of  a  quantity  does  not  involve  much  loss.  Books 
can  be  treated  at  a  disinfecting  station.  It  would  be  wiser 
to  have  them  burnt,  for  they  are  difficult  to  disinfect,  and 
manv  of  them  are  so  cheap  that  their  replacement  is  not 
costly. 

In  schools  that  are  subjected  to  this  periodical  disinfection 


THE   HEALTH  OF  CHILDREN  59 

there  is  a  notable  freedom  from  infectious  illnesses ;  the  number 
of  cases  of  colds  in  the  head  are  considerably  reduced. 

Annie  Home. 

BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE. 

Manual  of  Elementary  Physiology.     Leonard  Hill.     (Ed.  Arnold,  6s. ^ 

Hygiene  for  Students.     Willoughby.     (Macmillan,  4s.  6d.) 

Child   Nature   and   Nurture.     Drummond.     (Dent,    is.) 

Elementary  Physiology.     Drnmmond.     2S.  6d. 

Children  in  Health  a7id  Disease.     Forsyth.     (John  Murray,  los.  6d.) 

School   Hygiene.     Newsholme    &    Pakes.     (Swan    Sonnenschein.) 

School  Hygiene.     Lyster.     (University  Tutorial  Press,  y.  6d.) 


THE  BABY-ROOM 

There  is  a  danger  of  considering  work  in  the  Baby-room 
as  something  separate,  something  apart  from  the  rest  of 
school  hfe  ;  less  important,  because  here  less  formal  instruc- 
tion can  be  carried  on.  This  is  probably  because  the  teacher's 
ideal  is  an  ideal  of  instruction  rather  than  one  of  education  ; 
because  the  result  of  work  in  the  higher  grades  is  more  easily 
measured,  can  even  sometimes  take  concrete  and  visible 
form,  whereas  the  results  of  Baby-room  work  are  entirely 
intangible,  can  never  be  tested  or  examined. 

To  understand  the  importance  of  Baby-room  work  teachers 
must  reahze  that  education  is  to  be  measured  in  terms  of 
growth,  and  not  in  terms  of  mental  content.  This  point  of 
view  of  the  child  as  something  growing,  and,  moreover,  as 
something  which  must  do  the  growing  for  himself,  is  essential 
to  teachers  of  all  grades.  Without  it  the  school  is  apt  to 
become  solely  an  institution  for  handing  on  formulated  race- 
experience,  whereas  social  development  ^ — the  ultimate  end 
of  all  education,  including  in  its  wider  scope  all  minor  aims — 
demands  that  the  child  be  educated  as  a  social  being,  and  for 
this  purpose  brought  into  contact  with  a  miniature  world 
of  people  and  things.  In  dealing  with  large  numbers,  and  for 
purposes  of  instruction,  it  is  necessary  to  divide  the  school 
into  classes,  but  it  is  contrary  to  the  social  ideal  that  these 
should  work  entirely  in  isolation,  as  is  too  often  the  case. 
Child  should  help  child,  class  help  class,  and  the  school  should 
be  a  real  community. 

Each  stage  in  child  life  demands  its  own  peculiar  experi- 
ences, and  it  is  the  special  work  of  education  to  provide  these 
as  the  need  for  them  arises.  In  the  13aby-room  this  is  essential. 
The  best  place  for  a  baby  below  five  years  is  a  good  home. 
If  teachers  would  picture  to  tliemselves  the  day  of  a  fortunate 
baby  in  such  a  one,  and  then  contrast  it  with  a  day  spent  in 

'  See  Bagley  oa  the  Social  Aim,  Educative  Process,  ch.  iii. 

60 


THE  BABY-ROOM  6i 

the  average  Baby-room,  they  would  find  an  explanation  for 
the  restlessness  and  listlessness  too  often  apparent  among  our 
school  babies,  and  perhaps  be  led  to  modify  the  demands 
made  on  these  undeveloped  infants. 

At  home  the  baby  is  free.  He  toddles  up  and  down  with 
his  mother,  or  sits  on  the  floor  at  her  feet  playing  often  with 
toys  which  are  imitations  of  the  very  things  she  uses. 
The  mother  makes  a  pudding,  or  cuts  out  material,  or 
washes  and  irons,  and  the  baby  spasmodically  imitates.  The 
mother  chatters  to  him  about  their  doings,  putting  quite 
naturally  his  active  experiences  into  words,  so  he  learns 
in  the  only  natural  way  what  these  vague  sounds  mean,  uses 
them  himself,  and  his  power  over  language  grows.  The 
mother  sings  to  him,  or  tells  him  about  other  children  or 
about  animals,  keeping  always  in  touch  with  his  experience, 
yet  widening  it,  and  so  the  happy  day  is  full  of  real  experience, 
and  therefore  of  real  learning.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
picture  the  average  school  Baby-room.  The  weary  babies 
seated  in  rows,  hands  behind  their  backs  or  at  least  under 
the  desks  ;  the  weary  teacher,  endeavouring  to  teach  by  words 
with  the  help  of  an  illustration  or  an  object,  shown  to  the 
children  ;  her  constant  appeals  to  the  babies  to  attend,  or 
to  listen,  or  not  to  fidget.  No  wonder  so  many  teachers 
would  "  rather  not  undertake  babies,"  or  that  so  many 
children  learn  to  be  lazy. 

The  baby  who  comes  to  school  is  a  real  baby — a  toddling, 
tottering,  uncontrolled,  inarticulate  bud  of  a  person,  only  just 
beginning  to  know  himself  as  separate  from  the  vast  world 
of  wonderful  new  things  around,  and  certain  only  in  one  direc- 
tion, namely  that  he,  the  centre  of  it  all,  wants  to  do,  io  make, 
to  control.  At  this  age  baby  is  essentially  a  httle  egoist. 
The  idea  of  himself  as  a  power  is  beginning  to  dawn,  and  is 
necessary  to  his  development.  Naturally  he  spends  all  his 
time  exerting  his  power,  often  of  course  in  wrong  directions, 
as  he  discovers  from  the  consequences.  In  school  this  sense 
of  power  is  generally  crushed,  and  then  its  development  goes 
on  unguided  in  playground  and  street  with  undesirable  results. 

The  most  noticeable  characteristic  of  a  young  healthy 
child  is  ceaseless  activity,  activity  involving  the  whole  self. 
The  homehke  environment  which  the  teacher  will  provide 
will  stimulate  the  child  to  be  purposefully  active,  but  she 
must  look  for  the  result  of  this  activity  in  the  child  himself, 
and  not  in  the  things  done  or  the  objects  made:  these  will 


62  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

and  should  be  crude  and  inartistic,  but  they  mark  a  stage, 
and  the  study  of  racial  development  will  show  their  import- 
ance.^ 

Again,  the  child's  interests  centre  round  things  rather 
than  ideas,  and  especially  round  things  which  move  or  change. 
His  attention  is  passive,  therefore  drudgery  and  drill  have 
no  place  at  this  stage.  It  is  natural  for  a  young  child's  interest 
to  flit  from  one  thing  to  another — especially  where  unchanging 
objects  are  concerned — but  as  soon  as  he  is  able  to  modify 
these  objects,  make  them  active,  or  be  himself  active  upon 
them,  his  attention  is  held  for  longer  periods.  If  teachers 
could  encourage  and  guide,  instead  of  checking  this  activity, 
children  would  more  readily  gain  the  power  to  concentrate. 

Since  growth  is  the  chief  need  of  life  at  this  stage,  what 
conditions  must  be  fulfiUed  if  the  child  is  to  grow  healthily  ? 

I.  He  must  be  occupied  in  playful  activity  which  will 
bring  him  a  variety  of  experiences  and  also  allow  free  expres- 
sion. 

II.  He  must  be  provided  with  healthy  physical  conditions. 
Play  in  the   Baby-room  may  be  considered  under  three 

chief  headings  : — 

(i)  Constructive  and  movement  plays — including  hand- 
work, free  play,  imitative  and  dramatic  plays,  rhythmic 
plays  and  romps. 

(2)  Nature  work — care  of  animals  and  plants  and  gardening. 

(3)  Language  expression — story,  song  and  chat. 

I.    PLAY  ACTIVITIES. 

(i)  Handwork. — Babies'  handwork  should  be  of  the  very 
simplest,  and  much  freedom  must  be  allowed.  Teachers 
who  look  for  accurate  or  artistic  work  will  do  well  to  consider 
the  child  at  this  stage  in  the  light  of  his  relation  to  racial  de- 
velopment. Another  point  to  be  remembered  is  that  the 
work  of  very  young  children  should  chiefly  involve  the  use 
of  the  larger  muscles,  and  not  require  fine  co-ordinations 
of  the  smaller  muscles. 

Sometimes  in  occupational  play  the  teacher  limits  the 
choice  of  material  and  definitely  suggests  and  guides  the  chil- 
dren's work ;  at  another  time  each  child  or  group  of  children 
chooses  materials  or  toys  and  directs  its  own  activity.  Occu- 
pational play  may  be  individual,  each  child  making  a  similar 

'  See  Chamberlain,   The  Child. 


THE  BABY-ROOM  63 

object,  or  it  may  take  the  form  of  group  work,  where  several 
or  all  of  the  children  unite  to  carry  out  dii^erent  pieces  of  work 
to  illustrate  a  common  idea.  In  both  guided  and  free  play 
several  kinds  of  material  and  toys  can  be  used  together. 
Among  those  occupations  most  suited  to  the  children  will 
be  the  playful  imitation  of  activities  carried  on  in  the  home, 
such  as  the  care  of  babies  (doll  play),  cooking,  washing,  and 
house  cleaning.  The  aim  here  is  twofold  :  the  representation 
of  life  around  and  the  getting  of  experience  through  activity 
— doing  for  a  purpose.  The  children  must  not  be  expected 
to  formulate  their  knowledge  on  the  subject,  and  no  direct 
teaching  should  be  given.  The  children  play,  and  in  the 
play  come  to  know  more  of  their  environment,  thinking  and 
acting  upon  it  in  a  natural  purposeful  way. 

Sandu'ork. — The  value  to  young  children  of  digging  and  con- 
structing with  sand  is  well  known,  but  provision  made  for  this  in 
school  is  not  always  satisfactory.  Sand  trays,  if  used,  must  be 
sufficiently  wide  and  deep  to  allow  free  handling  of  the  material. 
Small  trays — about  10  in.  by  12  in. — supplied  with  a  thin 
layer  of  dry  sand  are  totally  inadequate ;  it  is  better  for  two 
or  three  children  to  share  a  larger  tray  and  to  have  plenty 
of  damp  sand.  Better  still  is  a  sand  pile  in  the  play  garden, 
and  in  the  room  a  trough  or  box,  such  as  those  described  below 
in  the  paragraph  on  furniture  of  the  Baby-room. 

Brick-building  is  too  often  limited  to  the  use  of  Froebel's 
"  Gifts  "  ;  surely  it  would  be  an  advantage  for  the  children 
to  have  larger  bricks  of  varying  lengths ;  for  example,  cubes 
with  1 1  in.  faces,  and  bricks  resembling  Tillick's,  but  again 
with  i\  in.  base  and  no  graduation  marks.  This  variety  in 
size  will  give  a  wider  experience  and  greater  scope  to  the 
children's  activity.  It  is  unwise  at  this  stage  to  expect  the 
children  to  keep  the  bricks  neatly  in  boxes,  as  fine  muscular 
adjustments  are  required  to  do  this,  baskets  or  larger  boxes 
where  no  arrangement  is  necessary  might  be  used.  In  the 
next  grade  (children  over  5  years  of  age)  the  same  kind  of 
bricks  may  help  the  children  to  form  their  first  ideas  of  ratio, 
and  make  their  first  measurements,^  and  now  the  orderly 
arrangement  of  the  bricks  will  help  to  centre  attention  on  the 
relation  of  one  to  another. 

Toymaking. — Babies  can  only  make  very  rough  and  simple 
toys,  such  as  the  following,  all  of  which  have  been  attempted. 
Rag  or  paper  dolls — prepared  shapes  may  be  stuffed  by  the 
*  See  Dewey,  Speers,  and  Tillick. 


64  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

children,  or  a  small  ball  (for  a  head)  can  be  covered  with 
material,  the  ends  being  left  to  form  body  and  limbs,  or  a 
clothes  peg  can  be  used  in  the  same  way.  Again,  dolls  can 
be  dressed  in  paper  or  material,  paper  trumpets,  scrap- 
books,  paper  kites,  cardboard  carts  (without  wheels),  flags, 
etc.,  can  all  be  made.  Match  boxes  are  useful  for  dolls'  beds, 
boats,  chests  of  drawers,  punch  and  judy  shows,  etc.  When- 
ever possible  waste  material  such  as  cotton  reels,  wall-paper, 
tram  tickets,  etc.,  should  be  used. 

Free-play  is  a  very  important  factor  in  child  life,  because 
in  the  free  choice  and  control  of  his  play  the  child  is  learning 
to  think  and  act  independently.  What  is  now  baby  play 
will  gradually  develop  into  self-directed  work.  A  period 
in  both  morning  and  afternoon  sessions  might  well  be  devoted 
to  free-play,  the  children  choosing  their  own  toys  or  material ; 
but  having  once  made  the  choice  they  should  be  encouraged 
to  abide  by  it  for  the  time  being.  Some  may  choose  dolls, 
others  dolls'  houses,  others  again  toy  animals,  trains  or  go- 
carts,  or  sand,  bricks  or  colouring  materials  ;  in  this  way  the 
Baby-room  will  approximate  as  nearly  as  possible  to  an  ideal 
nursery.  The  teacher's  chief  work  is  now  to  observe  the 
children,  notice  the  bent  and  peculiarities  of  each,  their 
powers  and  limitations,  and  to  help  those  who  are  lacking  in 
initiative.  She  will  do  well  to  give  little  actual  direction  to 
the  play,  making  suggestions  only  when  really  needed. 

Rhythmic  Plays. — It  is  often  felt  that  there  is  a  scarcity  of 
suitable  games  and  plays  for  the  Baby-room.  Surely  this  is 
only  because  teachers  are  looking  for  something  elaborate, 
something  which  expresses  a  definite  sequence  of  ideas,  some- 
thing which  is  effective,  and  pleasing  for  the  adult  to  witness. 
But  tliese  are  not  the  natural  games  of  little  children.  At 
this  early  stage  pleasure  comes  largely  from  physical  move- 
ment, it  is  not  necessarily  the  expression  of  an  idea.  Jumping, 
hopping,  dancing  about,  clapping,  and  use  of  the  vocal  organs 
arc  the  child's  natural  games.  Here  is  the  teacher's  oppor- 
tunity to  use  this  impulsive  activity,  and  by  introducing  the 
controlling  power  of  music,  help  the  children  to  regulate  and 
gradually  develop  this  wild  eneigy  till  it  becomes  the  rhythmic 
and  purposeful  expression  of  ideas.  Instead  of  attempting 
to  teach  set  dances  and  steps,  would  it  not  be  far  better 
to  play  simple  music,  and  encourage  the  children  to  move 
quite  freely  in  response  ?  The  music  of  the  Baby's  Opera 
and    Baby's    Bouquet,    published    by    Warne,  and    a    book 


THE  BABY-ROOM  65 

of  Scotch  dance  music — Kerr's  collection — are  excellent  for 
this  purpose,  being  simple  yet  good  in  quality.  Such  simple 
games  are  Lubin  Loo,  Oranges  and  Lemons,  Ring  of  Roses, 
Mulberry  Bush,  Blue  Bird,  etc.,  if  taken  simply  and  naturally. 

Imitative  Plays. — These  range  from  the  simplest  spon- 
taneous imitation  of  animal  noises  and  movements,  to  the 
more  elaborate  dramatizations  of  life  around,  or  of  the  ideas 
conveyed  by  story,  song,  or  rhyme. 

In  the  early  stages  the  child  seizes  upon  one  prominent 
feature  of  its  model,  and  acts  out  that.  For  instance,  he 
neighs,  mews,  or  roars ;  next  he  may  imitate  the  movement 
of  the  interesting  object,  uniting  this  with  the  noise,  as  when 
playing  trains  he  shuffles  along,  using  his  arms  for  pistons 
and  making  the  whistle  and  puff  of  the  engine ;  or  in  being  a 
dog  he  runs  on  all  fours,  barking  and  pretending  to  bite.  A 
still  later  stage  shows  a  series  of  complex  activities  ;  he  will 
play  at  tea  parties  ;  at  brushing,  stabling,  and  feeding  his 
horse ;  at  travelling  in  tramcar  or  train,  and  many  also  of 
the  home  industries  are  imitated  in  this  simple  way.  Thus 
the  child  comes  into  touch  with  his  surroundings,  and  so  by 
actually  living  out  in  this  way  the  experiences  of  others,  does 
he  reach  a  true  understanding  of  and  sympathy  with  life 
around.  In  the  Baby-room  these  simple  imitative  plays  are 
sometimes  neglected  ;  teachers  will  do  well  to  encourage, 
suggest  and  lead  the  children  in  such  imitations,  playing 
freely  with  them  as  one  of  themselves.  The  dramatization 
of  story  or  nursery  rhyme  is  often  attempted ;  and  if  babies 
are  ready  for  it, this  is  excellent — but  when  it  is  found  necessary 
to  teach  the  actions,  either  the  children  are  not  sufficiently 
advanced,  or  else  their  originality  has  not  in  the  past  been 
given  opportunity  to  develop.  Dramatization  must  always 
be  free  and  original,  however  poor  the  apparent  results  ; 
the  teacher's  work  here  is  to  help  by  suggestion  and  guidance, 
and  by  herself  taking  a  part  in  the  play. 

Music  and  words  are  not  always  an  advantage  in  games. 
The  former  is  sometimes  helpful  as  an  accompaniment,  for 
example,  when  children  dramatize  sleep,  or  fairy  life,  or 
soldiers  marching;  but  usually  the  words  written  for  young 
children  hinder  rather  than  help  free  representation  of  their 
ideas. 

Ring  Plays  and  Romps. — In  these  it  is  the  simplicity  and 
vigour  of  the  movements  rather  than  the  expression  of  ideas 
which   gives  pleasure.     Words,  if  used,  should  be  simple ; 

F 


66  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

children  often  enjoy  nonsense  syllables  in  these  games.  Songs 
which  introduce  ideas  foreign,  and  therefore  harmful,  to  little 
children,  such  as  love-making  and  parodies  on  death,  are 
unsuitable  and  should  be  rigidly  avoided. 

(2)  Nature  Work. — Little  children  are  naturally  very 
fond  of  animals  and  plants,  but  at  this  stage  they  are  workers 
rather  than  observers,  so  that  they  love  to  take  care  of  and 
play  with  their  pet  animals,  but  do  not  notice  structure. 
Structure  is  the  result  of  use,  therefore  the  activity  should 
first  be  known ;  until  this  is  understood,  knowledge  of  structure 
will  have  no  meaning  or  value.  Let  the  children  live  as  much 
as  possible  with  Nature,  provide  them  with  pet  animals, 
growing  plants  and  a  garden.  The  question  of  the  keeping 
of  pet  animals  by  children  in  school  is  a  much  debated  one. 
Some  Nature  lovers  feel  that  far  from  there  being  any  benefit 
from  such  a  practice,  it  may  not  only  bring  suffering  to  the 
animal,  but  physical  and  moral  harm  to  the  children.  When- 
ever this  is  the  case,  it  arises  from  grave  fault  or  misunder- 
standing on  the  part  of  the  teacher  in  charge.  If  the  keeping 
of  pets  can  only  be  undertaken  at  the  cost  of  injury  to  the 
children  and  animals,  obviously  it  is  wrong,  and  must  at  once 
be  abandoned.  It  is  essential  that  teachers  should  under- 
stand the  needs  of  both  children  and  animals  in  order  that 
this  danger  be  avoided.  The  points  of  view  of  the  lover  of 
children  and  that  of  the  lover  of  animals  are  not  antagonistic, 
they  are  one  and  the  same.  If  life  is  ever  to  be  cared  for  and 
reverenced  as  it  should  be,  we  must  bring  children  into 
sympathetic  relations  with  living  things  during  their  most 
impressionable  years — while  anthropomorphism  is  at  its 
height.  If  we  let  children  grow  through  the  infant  stage 
without  personally  caring  for  and  tending  animal  life,  we  shall 
find  them  at  the  girl  and  boy  stage  interested,  no  doubt, 
but  along  the  lines  of  curiosity  and  inquiry  without  the  back- 
ground of  intimacy  and  love,  to  lack  which  is  to  lack  the 
greatest  essentials  of  the  Nature  lover.  They  will  bring  to 
the  study  of  Nature  the  head  without  the  guidance  of  the 
good  heart. 

Again,  it  must  be  remembered  that  children  do  come  in 
contact  with  animals  in  the  home  and  in  the  street,  a  contact 
which  is  generally  extremely  detrimental  to  them  morally, 
for  the  home  cat,  or  dog,  or  rabbit  is  too  often  merely  the 
plaything  of  the  children,  to  be  tormented  and  worried  regard- 
less of  its  nature  or  happiness. 


THE  BABY-ROOM  67 

It  is  for  the  teacher,  then,  to  choose  whether  she  allows 
this  point  of  view  to  colour  the  children's  attitude  towards 
animal  hfe,  or  whether  in  her  devotion  to  both  children  and 
animals  she  will  take  the  necessary  trouble,  great  though  it 
may  be,  to  ensure  a  happy  life  for  the  pet  animal  and  beneficial 
contact  with  it  for  the  children.  This  is  already  being  admir- 
ably done  in  a  few  of  our  Infant  Elementary  Schools,  where 
only  one  or  two  permanent  pets  are  kept,  which  enjoy  almost 
complete  liberty. 

Certainly  the  most  real  Nature  study  can  only  be  carried 
on  by  going  to  the  habitat  of  the  creature  and  studying  it 
in  its  free  native  environment,  but  neither  his  own  nature 
nor  circumstances  permit  such  a  study  for  the  four-year-old 
child  ;  his  observation  comes  only  as  a  result  of  close  personal 
contact,  he  cannot  long  be  still  and  watch  and  wait,  but  by 
taking  care  of  his  pets  and  helping  to  provide  for  their  comfort 
he  comes  to  love  them.  The  necessity  for  personal  contact, 
for  living  with  his  possession,  is  fundamental  to  the  child's 
real  interest  in  it — a  comparison  with  his  social  relationships 
will  show  the  same  need  here. 

The  baby's  interest  in  animal  Hfe  will  centre  on  his  personal 
pets,  the  dog,  cat,  hen  and  chickens,  rabbits  or  guinea  pigs, 
goldfish,  frogs,  tadpoles,  and  perhaps  a  dove  or  canary.  Any 
of  these  may  be  kept  easily  and  comfortably,  provided  the 
teacher  realizes  their  needs,  and  is  sufficiently  enthusiastic 
to  take  the  necessary  trouble.  It  is  far  better  to  have  one 
or  two  pets,  give  them  large  cages,  plenty  of  liberty  and  con- 
stant care,  than  to  attempt  more,  with  less  comfort  for  the 
animals  and  a  less  intimate  contact  between  children  and 
pets.  Wild  native  animals  or  birds  should  never  be  caged 
or  kept ;  in  such  cases  the  cost  in  suffering  to  the  animals  is 
in  no  way  compensated  for,  and  the  harm  to  the  children  is 
great. 

To  children  below  the  age  of  five  years  plant  life  has  not 
the  same  attraction  as  animal  life,  but  flowers  are  enjoyed 
for  their  colour,  and  the  Baby-room  should  always  be  supplied 
with  these,  to  be  arranged  and  re-watered  daily  by  the  chil- 
dren ;  bulbs  and  the  larger  seeds,  such  as  chestnuts  (of  both 
kinds),  acorns,  sycamores,  etc.,  may  be  grown  indoors.  The 
interest  here,  as  with  the  animals,  will  be  largely  personal, 
not  scientific. 

In  the  playground  the  Babies'  garden  is  important ;  narrow 
strips  ot  bed  with  little  paths  between  are  convenient.     The 


68  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

gardening  at  this  stage  does  not  aim  at  artistic  effect,  it  is 
rather  a  purely  educational  occupation,  its  chief  values  being 
the  joy  and  the  life  experience  it  brings  the  children. 

If  the  class  is  large,  all  the  babies  together  cannot  water  the 
plants,  make  holes,  or  put  in  seeds ;  those  who  must  be  onlookers 
for  the  moment  can  "  pretend,"  imitating  the  activity  to  the 
accompaniment  perhaps  of  such  a  song  as,  "  In  my  little 
garden  bed  "  (E.  E.  Poulsson — Finger  Plays),  or  an  adapted 
version  of  "  The  Mulberry  Bush,"  "  This  is  the  way  we  sow 
our  seeds,"  etc.  If  it  is  impossible  to  have  a  garden,  boxes 
and  pots  can  be  substituted.  Whatever  the  disadvantages 
under  which  a  school  labours,  it  is  always  possible  to  provide 
some  gardening,  and  the  culture  which  results  to  children  of 
all  ages  from  this  activity  makes  any  effort  it  may  cost, 
worth  the  trouble.  Under  the  heading  of  Nature  work  may 
be  classed  those  plays  with  water,  colours,  sunhght  and 
shadow,  which,  suggested  by  Froebel  in  his  "  MuHey  unci 
Kose  Liedey,"  are  still  to  many  teachers  an  unexplored  region, 
but  one  which  gives  scope  for  much  thought  and  originality. 

(3)  Language  Training  has  an  important  place  in  the 
Baby-room,  but  it  is  incidental,  a  part  of  the  environment ; 
and  any  formal  teaching  of  the  subject  is  out  of  place.  We 
are  too  apt  to  rush  children  through  this  important  stage, 
imagining  that  the  making  and  translating  of  symbols  is  the 
foundation  on  which  language  is  built,  whereas  gesture  and 
speech,  used  to  convey  ideas,  are  the  real  foundation.  Ideas 
to  be  expressed  and  freedom  to  express  them  are  essential 
for  language  culture.  Actual  experiences  are  in  the  early 
years  more  potent  factors  in  language  teaching  than  even 
story,  rhyme  and  song,  though  they,  too,  have  an  important 
place.  Children  should  be  encouraged  to  talk  very  freely 
about  the  things  which  interest  them.  The  language  of  the 
story,  above  the  level  of  the  children's  own  powers  of  expres- 
sion, must  yet  be  simple  enough  for  them  to  realize  the  ideas 
which  it  conveys,  so  that  new  ideas  and  new  forms  of  expres- 
sion are  gained.  Of  course,  stories  for  this  stage  must  be 
very  short.  In  song  and  rhyme  it  is  not  necessary  that  every 
word  shall  be  understood  by  the  children,  so  long  as  the  ideas 
are  either  within  their  comprehension  and  of  a  kind  interesting 
to  them,  or,  if  incomprehensible,  such  that  delight  is  caused  by 
the  mere  jingle  of  nonsense  words,  for  example,  "  Hickory 
dickory  dock,"  or  "  Hey  diddle  diddle." 

Number  Work. — What  has  been  said  regarding  the  place  of 


THE  BABY- ROOM  69 

language  teaching  applies  equally  to  number.  The  only 
number  work  that  babies  are  ready  for  is  the  counting  of 
actual  objects  of  interest,  and  the  ideas  of  form  and  size 
that  underlie  all  play  with  toys.  To  count  small  groups  of 
these  is  a  legitimate  activity  on  condition  that  it  is  done  in 
play,  and  that  there  is  a  purpose  which  appeals  to  the  child 
as  real.  The  teacher  should  use  the  many  natural  oppor- 
tunities which  arise  for  the  children  to  count  their  toys,  etc. ; 
for  instance,  their  soldiers  when  setting  them  out  to  march, 
the  children  on  the  rocking-horse,  the  number  of  bricks 
carried  in  the  toy-cart,  the  visitors  at  their  tea-party,  the 
plates  and  cups  to  be  set  for  them.  Number  plays  and 
rhymes  may  be  helpful,  provided  the  counting  is  spontaneous 
and  natural  as  in  :  "  This  little  pig  went  to  market,"  "  Five 
little  dickybirds,"  "  Thumbkin  says,  I'll  dance,"  "The  merry 
little  men,"  etc. 

The  teacher  in  the  Baby-room,  if  she  introduces  number 
work  at  all,  must  reaUze  that  it  has  its  beginning  in  measuring 
by  counting  jor  a  purpose,  and  a  purpose  which  is  realized 
by  the  individual  who  counts.^ 

II.    PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS. 

Sleep. — In  considering  the  child's  physical  needs,  the 
teacher  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  home  conditions;  she 
must  treat  the  child's  Ufe  as  a  whole,  doing  her  best  to  com- 
pensate in  school  hours  for  deficiencies  in  home  life.  One  of 
the  most  neglected  conditions  of  child  life  at  present  is  the 
need  for  abundant  and  peaceful  sleep,  a  neglect  which  is 
noticeable  in  all  classes  of  society. 

It  is  difficult  to  prevent  the  over- excitement  and  over- 
stimulation from  which  children  too  often  suffer,  but  teachers 
can  do  something  to  counteract  it  by  giving  to  all  the  younger 
children  opportunities  for  sleep  during  school  hours.  In  the 
Baby-room  a  period  in  both  morning  and  afternoon  sessions 
may  well  be  devoted  to  sleep  ;  for  children  of  five  years  the 
afternoon  rest  should  be  regularly  continued  ;  while  it  should 
be  possible  for  any  older  child,  who  may  temporarily  or  occa- 
sionally need  sleep,  to  join  the  younger  ones  in  this  daily  rest. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  the  majority  of  children  waken 
with  dayhght  and  spend  about  fifteen  hours  in  incessant 
activity,  often  amidst  noise  and  confusion,  it  cannot  but  be 

1  See  Dewey,  Th$  Psychology  of  Number. 


70  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

considered  beneficial  to  ensure  that  they  should  have  periods 
for  absolute  rest  and  quiet.  A  lullaby  sung  or  soft  music 
played  while  the  children  are  settled  to  rest,  will  help  to 
ensure  peaceful  sleep  and  add  to  the  children's  enjoyment. 

LuNXH. — Time  may  well  be  spared  in  the  Baby-room  to 
make  the  lunch  a  dainty  meal.  If  the  authorities  will  provide 
inexpensive  cloths,  plates  and  mugs,  the  children  can  arrange 
these  and  place  flowers  on  the  tables.  The  lunch,  provided 
by  the  school  where  possible,  or  by  some  arrangement  of 
small  payments,  can  be  handed  by  the  children,  and  in  this 
way  refined  and  courteous  habits  will  be  formed.  The  clearing 
away  and  washing  of  the  articles  should  be  done  by  the 
children  under  the  supervision  of  the  teacher  and  with  the 
help  of  an  older  child,  who  may  be  invited  by  the  little  ones. 

Furniture  and  Appointments. — We, are  now  prepared 
to  consider  the  room,  apparatus  and  playgarden  suitable 
for  the  use  of  a  babies'  class.  Remembering  the  importance 
of  early  impressions  in  the  formation  of  ideals,  taste  and 
habits,  and  their  influence  on  physical  and  mental  health, 
we  realize  the  necessity  of  careful  choice  in  the  surround- 
ings of  young  children. 

With  regard  to  situation,  a  south  aspect  is  best,  with  large, 
low,  clear  glass  windows  looking  on  to  the  garden,  and  a  door 
leading  directly  into  it.  Plain  short  curtains  can  be  drawn 
across  the  lower  part  of  the  window  when  the  older  children 
are  using  the  garden  and  playground. 

Besides  the  usual  heating  apparatus,  it  is  advantageous 
to  have  an  open  fire  with  a  secure  high  guard  before  it.  The 
walls  of  the  room  may  be  painted  in  some  suitable  light,  soft 
colour,  with  an  enamelled  dado  of  a  corresponding  darker 
shade  :  the  colour  determined  by  the  aspect  of  the  room. 
The  glazed  brick  dado  found  in  many  Baby-rooms  in  ele- 
mentary schools,  though  cleanly,  is  too  cold  for  such  young 
children.  The  most  satisfactory  floor  covering  is  thick  cork 
carpet  ;  it  is  both  warm  and  hygienic.  Where  this  cannot 
be  provided  a  large  piece  of  floor  cloth,  with  a  shiny  surface 
from  which  dust  is  easily  removed,  should  be  laid  on  the  floor 
at  times,  so  that  groups  of  babies  may  sit  on  it  to  play  in  the 
position  most  natural  at  their  age.  Some  schools  already 
make  use  of  a  cheap  straw  matting  for  this  purpose ;  they 
have  two  or  three  dozen  mats  of  this  material,  which  are  warm 
for  the  babies  to  sit  on,  are  easily  rolled  up,  and  can  be  washed. 
Small  tables  and  chairs,  light  enough  for  the  children  them- 


THE  BABY-ROOM  71 

selves  to  move  easily,  are  the  most  convenient  furniture ; 
for  cupboards,  long  low  ones  will  be  found  useful  where  the 
babies  keep  their  toys  and  materials,  the  top  of  which, 
being  not  more  than  three  feet  high,  can  be  used  as  a  side 
table  for  flowers,  growing  seeds,  plants,  or  other  interesting 
possessions  of  the  children. 

A  piano  is  a  necessity. 

In  large  classes  the  difficulty  of  accommodating  many 
sleeping  children  has  to  be  faced,  and  there  are  various  arrange- 
ments for  this.  Perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  is  the  provision 
of  a  small  hammock  for  each  child.  Hanging  to  a  hook  in 
the  wall  is  a  canvas  hammock,  the  opposite  end  of  which  is 
fastened  to  an  upright  rod,  which  is  held  in  position  by  being 
let  into  a  deep  socket  in  the  floor.  When  not  in  use  the  rod 
is  lifted  out  of  its  socket  and  hung,  together  with  both  ends 
of  the  hammock,  on  the  hook  in  the  wall,  while  the  socket 
hole  in  the  floor  is  covered  by  a  sHding  Hd.  When  in  use  the 
hammock  should  be  not  more  than  ih  feet  from  the  floor. 
In  this  way,  without  encroaching  unduly  on  the  floor  space, 
it  should  be  possible  to  accommodate  all  the  children  for 
their  daily  rests. 

A  sand  trough  18  inches  wide,  6  inches  deep,  and  ih  to  2 
feet  high,  fixed  along  one  wall  and  filled  with  damp  sand,  is 
a  valuable  addition  to  the  Baby-room.  Penny  buckets, 
spades  and  wooden  moulds  of  different  shapes  will  add  to  the 
children's  intelhgent  experimental  play. 

Pictures. — Practical  experience  shows  that  children  of  this 
age  are  not  attracted  by  pictures  which  are  more  than  four 
feet  from  the  floor.  One  sometimes  sees  a  Baby-room  crowded 
with  pictures — this  gives  a  confused  impression  harmful  to 
the  children  ;  it  is  far  better  to  have  a  few — perhaps  three 
or  four — good  pictures  illustrating  the  chief  interests  for 
the  time  being,  and  change  these  as  the  interests  change. 
Could  the  Caldecot  pictures  be  enlarged  to  a  suitable  size, 
some  of  these  would  answer  the  purpose  admirably.  The 
excellence  of  the  Caldecot  illustrations  will  be  realized  if 
teachers  compare  his  "  Sing  a  song  for  sixpence,"  for  example, 
with  those  pictures  often  used,  where  the  whole  setting  is 
matter  of  fact,  and  artistic  imagination  entirely  wanting. 
In  the  one  case  the  imagination  is  stimulated  and  uplifted, 
as  is  possible  only  under  the  inspiration  of  an  artist,  while  in 
the  other  the  onlooker's  thoughts  are  hampered  by  the  com- 
monplace, or  at  best  left  just  where  they  were. 


72  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

Toys. — ^Toys  must  be  simple.  One  of  the  great  dangers 
of  the  present  age  is  the  over-stimulation  of  young  children. 
This  is  partly  caused  by  a  super-abundance  of  playthings 
and  their  lack  of  simphcity.  Elaborate  toys  put  the  child 
into  the  position  of  spectator  rather  than  of  operator.  In 
this  way  the  play  loses  its  value,  and  becomes  a  mere  amuse- 
ment instead  of  an  educational  process.  Toy  play  should 
be  a  great  feature  of  the  Baby-room.  The  child  should 
have  material  which  he  can  understand,  mould,  alter  and 
with  which  he  can  carry  out  activities.  This  is  a  plea 
for  the  simple  and  "  natural  "  toy;  for  example,  instead  of 
one  expensive  factory-made  dolls'  house,  several  smaller 
houses  made  from  boxes  or  small  packing  cases,  and  furnished 
with  a  few  pieces  of  strong  rough  furniture,  would  be  iniinitely 
more  valuable.  When  one  house  only  is  provided  it  is  impos- 
sible for  many  children  to  have  the  experience  of  playing 
with  it,  and  when  at  last  his  turn  comes,  the  child  cannot 
plan  and  organize  for  himself,  as  the  toy  has  to  be  shared  by 
several.  Besides  this,  the  introduction  of  expensive  toys 
spoils  the  child's  taste  and  Hmits  his  imagination.  The 
following  toys  are  suggested  as  suitable  for  baby-room  play : — 
a  safety  swing  if  space  and  supervision  allow,  rocking  horse, 
wheel-barrows,  dolls  (one  for  each  child),  cradles,  dolls' 
perambulators,  horses,  carts,  trucks,  go-carts,  engines,  milk- 
carts,  stables,  farms,  balls,  boats,  reins,  teddy  bears,  toy 
animals,  soldiers,  skittles,  Noah's  arks,  etc.  Nearly  all 
these  can  be  made  by  children  in  the  upper  classes,  giving 
opportunity  for  a  united  school  hfe,  giving  purpose  to  the 
handwork  lessons,  and  enabling  the  children  to  use  waste 
material  which  many  homes  provide  and  shops  are  often 
willing  to  give  for  such  a  purpose. 

The  needs  of  the  Baby-room  offer  other  opportunities 
for  community  life  in  the  school  as  a  whole.  In  the  cookery 
class  biscuits  can  be  made  for  lunch ;  overalls  and  table- 
cloths made  in  the  needlework  lessons  can  be  washed  in  the 
laundry  class,  the  making  and  mending  of  felt  slippers  and 
of  toys  is  suitable  work  for  the  handwork  classes  :  in  this 
way  the  work  of  the  school  will  be  more  closely  in  touch  with 
real  life  and  real  needs,  and  become  increasingly  educational. 

The  Playground. — Any  playground  which  is  to  be  of  educa- 
tional value  to  young  children  must  include  a  garden,  even 
if  it  should  be  necessary  to  rail  this  off  as  a  special  place  in 
which  the  rougher  forms  of  play  may  not  be  indulged.     There 


THE  BABY-ROOM  73 

should  be  grass — if  possible  partly  shaded  by  trees,  and  in 
fine,  warm  weather  the  babies  should  bring  out  their  tables 
and  chairs,  so  that  many  of  their  plays  may  take  place  in  the 
open  air  in  a  more  natural  and  healthful  environment  than 
the  best  planned  room  can  provide.  The  children's  gardens 
will  be  here,  the  sand  pile,  and  possibly  a  long  sand-trough 
at  which  many  children  can  play  together. 

Time  Table. — The  time  table,  if  existing,  should  be  ex- 
tremely elastic.  A  general  scheme  will  help  to  ensure  variety 
in  the  children's  experience,  but  the  teacher  should  be  free 
to  prolong,  shorten  or  omit  any  activity  when  her  observation 
of  the  children  makes  her  realize  the  wisdom  of  this.  Below 
is  given  a  scheme  for  a  Baby-room  time  table,  not  in  any 
way  as  a  model,  but  to  indicate  the  hues  on  which  the  sug- 
gested ideas  could  be  carried  out.  A  break  of  five  minutes 
has  been  arranged  after  each  period  to  be  used  at  the  teacher's 
discretion  for  play,  singing,  games,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  for 
lengthening  a  period  if  this  has  proved  too  short  to  satisfy 
the  children's  needs. 

9-9.20  \\  ash  hands,  etc.     Register.     Singing  and 
morning  chat. 

9.25-9.40  Nature  work. 

9.45-10  Story,  chat  or  song. 

10. 5-10. 20  Play. 

10.25-10.40  Lunch. 

10. 45-1 1  Recreation. 

11-11.30  Sleep. 

II. 30-11. 50  Free  play  (for  those  who  wake  naturally). 

II. 50-12  Wash  and  dress. 

2-2.15  Wash,  singing.     Registers. 

2.20-2.35  Games. 

2.40-3  Occupational  play. 

3-3.15  Recreation. 

3.15  Sleep  (all  who  can,  will  sleep  till  4  o'clock). 

3-30-3-50  Free  play. 

3.50-4  Wash  and  dress 

E.  B.  Cole. 


74  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

BOOKS   OF  REFERENCE 

The  following  books  will  be  found  useful  from  which  to 
select  songs  or  stories  suitable  for  very  young  children : — 

Baby's  Opera.     (Warne,  3s.  6^^.) 

Baby's  Bouquet.     (Warne,  3s.  6d.) 

Nursery  Songs.     Keatley  Moore.     (Routledge,  3s.  6d.) 

Holiday  Songs.     Milton  Bradley.     los. 

Music  for  the  Kindergarten.     E.  Heerwart.     (Boosey  &  Co.,  2s.  6d.) 

Boston  Book  of  Songs.     Walker  &  Jenks.     (Curvven,  4s.  6d.) 

Songs,  Games  and  Rhymes  for  Kindergarten  and  Primary  Schools.    Hail- 

mann.     (Milton  Bradley  &  Co.) 
Mother  Stories.     M.  Lindsay.     (Milton  Bradley,  5s.) 
More  Mother  Stories.     M.  Lindsay.     (Milton  Bradley,  55.) 
In  the  Child  World.     Emily  Poulsson.     js.  6d.  net. 
Peter  Rabbit.     Beatrix  Potter,     is.  net. 
Little  Black  Sambo.     (Chatto  &  Windus,  is.  net.) 
How  to  Tell  .Stories  to  Children.     Sara  Cone  Bryant.     (Harrap,  2s.  6d. 

net.) 
Stories  to  Tell  to  Children.     Sara  Cone  Bryant.     (Harrap,  as.  6d.   not.) 
Two  Bad  Mice.     Beatrix  Potter.     (Warne,  is.) 
In  the  Children's  Garden.     Schofield.     (Philip  &  Son,  5s.) 
Heart  of  Oak.  Books  I  and  II.     (Heath  &  Co.) 


LITERATURE 
{a)  STORIES   AND   STORY   MATERIAL 

In  the  search  for  fitting  material  with  which  to  educate, 
the  teacher  naturally  studies  the  child,  with  a  view  to 
understanding  his  interests  and  needs,  in  order  that  such 
material  may  be  chosen  and  brought  into  Hne  with  them  as 
will  secure  the  conditions  which  make  for  right  development. 
One  of  the  results  of  such  study  is  the  discovery  of  the  hunger 
which  all  normal  children  show  for  stories.  "  Please  tell  me 
a  story  "  is  a  constant  request  on  childish  lips — indicating 
a  natural  need,  which,  if  rightly  satisfied,  promotes  the 
mind's  growth  and  development.  A  proper  supply  of  nourish- 
ing food  and  alternations  of  exercise  and  rest  are  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  body's  well-being.  Equally  so  are  these 
conditions  necessary  for  the  mind.  From  good  story  material 
such  food  is  obtained,  and  of  a  most  appetising  kind,  whilst 
the  opportunity  for  exercise  is  unique.  The  truth  of  this 
is  obvious  to  any  student  of  child  nature  who  watches  children 
during  a  story  period.  Their  absolute  absorption  and  intent- 
ness  during  the  recital  is  a  marked  characteristic  of  attitude, 
which  is  strong  testimony  of  the  fitness  of  this  form  of  mind 
food. 

Imagine  yourself  watching  such  a  group.  There  is  an  utter 
absence  of  self-consciousness.  Each  child  makes  his  own 
special  effort  to  lose  nothing  of  the  narrative  or  the  charm  of 
interpretation.  One  turns  round  a  chair  to  get  a  better 
view  of  the  teller's  face.  Another  hugs  his  knees  as  though 
it  helped  to  increase  his  pleasure.  A  third,  drawn  by  the 
spell  of  the  teacher's  art,  leaves  his  place  and  gradually  draws 
nearer  and  nearer  to  her,  as  if  by  so  doing  he  could  intensify 
his  delight.  You  notice  a  thoughtful  little  face  looking  at 
the  narrator  with  moving  lips,  repeating  some  phrase  that 
has  caught  her  fancy.     Stifled  expressions  of  sympathy  or  , 


76  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

disapproval  come  from  different  parts  of  the  class,  sometimes 
an  eager  question  from  an  impatient  child  who  finds  it  hard 
to  wait  for  the  end,  or  a  timid  protest  from  a  sensitive  one 
who  is  in  trembling  doubt  as  to  the  fate  of  the  hero.  Real 
delight  is  variously  expressed  when  all  goes  well — if  the  story 
has  been  one  of  stress  and  fight ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
incidents  have  treated  of  the  quieter  things  of  hfe,  the  pause 
at  the  end,  followed  by  the  long-drawn  sigh  of  appreciation, 
given  with  so  much  sincerity  and  heartiness,  makes  the  teller 
revel  in  her  art  and  all  the  joy  it  brings. 

Froebel  says  that  the  child's  delight  in  the  story  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  he  uses  it  as  a  means  for  finding  and  understand- 
ing himself.  Self  in  the  early  days  has  no  meaning  for  him. 
He  has  not  sufficient  knowledge  or  experience  to  interpret 
that  self.  So  he  unconsciously  seeks  for  that  interpretation 
in  the  light  of  another's  experience.  A  story  portraying  a 
phase  of  life  similar  to  his  own,  though  not  so  similar  as  to 
create  self-consciousness,  helps  to  make  that  phase  intelligible. 
One  knows  that  it  is  so  by  his  questions  and  his  expression 
in  free  play.  His  questions  are  usually  of  a  personal  kind  : 
"  How  old  was  the  httle  boy  ?  "  "  What  was  he  hke  ?  " 
"  Could  he  jump  Hke  this  ?  "  suiting  the  action  to  the  word. 
His  free  play  is  another  attempt  to  realize  himself  in  terms 
of  somebody  else.  He  personates  the  character  that  most 
appeals  to  him,  and  for  the  time  being  Hves  the  life  of  his 
hero.  Constant  comparison  of  himself  or  others  with  the 
experiences  that  are  passing  in  review  before  him  goes  on  ; 
the  tearful  sorrow  of  a  particularly  dainty  little  girl  at  the 
dirty  condition  of  Tom  in  the  Water  Babies  as  she  sobbed  out, 
"  Will  he  never  be  clean  again  ?  "  illustrates  this  ;  as  well 
as  the  attempt  on  the  part  of  another  child  to  find  some  one 
with  whom  she  could  compare  Mrs.  Do-as-you-would-be- 
done-by,  which  resulted  in  her  asking  an  onlooker,  "  Are  you 
tJiat  little  old  lady  ?  " 

At  first  the  child  is  quite  content  with  itself.  Its  own 
physical  needs,  its  own  powers  of  activity,  satisfy  it.  But 
as  soon  as  it  begins  to  understand  its  connexion  with  outside 
things,  then  is  begotten  within  it  a  craving  for  the  experiences 
of  others  in  story  form.  The  reason  for  this  is  easily  under- 
stood when  one  considers  how  dim  must  be  its  own  realization 
of  its  place  in  the  world,  and  its  total  ignorance  of  what  this 
connexion  may  unfold.  Everything  lies  beyond  it.  The 
vague  consciousness  of  a  vast  unexplored  land,  in  which  there 


LITERATURE  77 

is  no  limit  to  possibility  for  him,  makes  the  experiences  of 
others,  when  unfolded  in  story  form,  an  illuminating  and 
satisfying  joy.  Readers  of  Lavengro  will  remember  with 
what  affection  and  gratitude  Borrow  speaks  of  his  first  story 
book,  Robinson  Crusoe.  Its  fascination  and  delight  he 
seems  never  to  have  forgotten,  and  the  stimulus  at  the  time 
was  so  great,  as  to  induce  effort  of  the  most  drudging  kind 
in  order  to  master  its  contents,  and  so  satisfy  the  raging  curi- 
osity with  which  he  was  fihed.  In  writing  of  this  experience 
he  says  :  "  My  progress,  slow  enough  at  first,  became  by  degrees 
more  rapid,  till  at  last,  under  '  a  shoulder  of  mutton  sail '  I 
found  myself  cantering  before  a  steady  breeze  over  an  ocean 
of  enchantments,  so  well  pleased  with  my  voyage  that  I 
cared  not  how  long  it  might  be  ere  it  reached  its  termination," 
Think  what  the  story  must  mean  to  the  child  of  the  slums 
with  his  limited  environment — so  meagre  in  suggestiveness 
and  so  lacking  in  interest,  and  all  that  might  be  called  vitalizing 
power  in  outlook.  Such  a  child's  activities  alternate  between 
home  and  school.  The  sum  of  the  home  activities  would 
probably  work  out  thus  :— running  errands  for  mother  or 
neighbours,  taking  care  of  baby,  doing  odd  jobs,  varied  by 
short  spehs  of  play  in  street  or  yard.  The  usefulness  of  such 
experience  no  one  questions,  but  its  barrenness  in  interest, 
thought-producing  power  and  stimulus  to  anything  like  fruit- 
ful endeavour,  goes  without  sa3ang.  If  to  such  a  life  we  add 
the  charm  of  a  story  like  Hiawatha,  Robinson  Crusoe,  The 
Cave  Dwellers,  we  supply  the  needed  interest.  We  give  the 
child  something  to  think  about,  which  seizes  his  imagination 
and  quickens  it  to  new  hfe.  He  begins  to  hve  in  a  world  of 
his  own  creation,  and  clothes  much  of  his  activity  with  the 
charm  of  fancy.  Play  now  is  more  often  than  not  an  attempt 
to  realize  certain  phases  of  the  story — those  phases  which 
have  most  deeply  impressed  him.  The  scanty  leisure  is 
frequently  used  in  constructive  effort  to  satisfy  the  new 
hunger,  and  the  power  of  ingenious  adaptation  shown  some- 
times astonishes  one.  Handy  oddments  like  pieces  of  fire- 
wood, string,  scraps  of  cloth,  bits  of  cork,  twigs  and  feathers 
are  all  used.  Nothing  comes  amiss  to  the  child  in  this  new 
stage  of  his  awakened  life.  Crusoe's  raft  is  fashioned,  his 
rough  bench  and  table,  the  cooking  vessels,  or  Hiawatha's 
wigwam,  canoe,  bow  and  arrows,  head  dress,  each  and  all 
are  attempted. 

The  value  of  this  self-induced  effort  is  dif&cult  to  assess. 


78  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

We  are  sure  that  it  has  widened  the  mental  horizon, 
broadened  interest  and  deepened  sympathy ;  further,  it  has 
started  the  habit  of  hnking  thought  and  expression,  with 
its  attendant  developing  reaction  upon  the  whole  organ- 
ism. It  has  given  the  hands  an  opportunity  really  to 
become  the  servants  of  the  mind,  and  above  all  has  brought 
fncreased  joy  and  happiness  into  the  young  life.  Into  the 
iabric  of  daily  routine  he  weaves  the  threads  of  fancy  to  such 
purpose,  that  his  doings  become  a  part  of  the  charmed  life 
into  which  he  has  stepped.  His  errands  no  longer  mean 
merely  fetching  a  loaf  of  bread  or  a  can  of  milk,  but  his 
imagination  pictures  this  as  one  of  Crusoe's  journeys  to  the 
ship  in  search  of  needed  treasure  for  the  lonely  home,  and 
so  the  daily  tasks  become  clothed  with  such  richness  and 
joy  as  is  inconceivable  to  the  adult  mind.  What  all  this 
does  by  way  of  developing  appreciation  and  starving,  because 
supplanting,  less  worthy  thought,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
know.  We  can  only  conjecture.  The  child  has  all  to  learn, 
and  though  he  learns  partly  through  his  own  experiences, 
he  learns  as  much  through  the  experiences  of  others  presented 
to  him  through  this  medium.  His  open  mind  offers  ex- 
ceptional opportunity  for  the  formation  of  a  good  basis  from 
which  his  ideals  will  eventually  develop.  The  story  helps 
to  get  the  child's  soul  ready  for  the  possession  of  some  lofty 
idea  in  order  that  he  may  have  a  suitable  place  for  its  lodg- 
ment. 

"  It  behoves  us,  the  first  thing  of  all,  to  prepare  in  our 
soul  a  place  of  some  loftiness  where  this  idea  may  be  lodged — 
as  the  priests  of  ancient  religion  laid  the  mountain  peak 
bare  and  cleared  it  of  thorn  and  root  for  the  fire  to  descend 
from  heaven — and  the  admirable  will  enter  our  soul,  the 
volume  of  its  waters  being  as  the  depth  of  the  channel  that 
our  expectation  has  fashioned  "  (Maeterlinck). 

By  its  power  we  can  stir  "  the  sleeping  spirit  of  hero  worship 
and  aspiration  "  into  new  hfe,  and  intensify  the  hunger  for 
beauty  and  goodness.  "  In  days  of  old  it  was  almost  the 
only  way  in  which  records  of  great  deeds  were  handed  down 
froni  one  generation  to  another  as  a  means  of  incentive, 
inspiration  and  warning." 

A  good  foundation  of  story  material  should  offer  such  a 
background  of  moral  training  as  is  possible  in  no  other  way. 
Morals  are  the  result  of  experience,  the  laws  and  rules  of 
life  which  experience  has  formulated  and  found  correct.    If 


LITERATURE  79 

we  wish  children  to  understand  and  appreciate  other  people's 
knowledge,  we  must  present  them  with  other  people's  experi- 
ence, which  we  do  by  stories.  In  presenting  types  of  conduct 
embodying  courage,  truth,  self-sacrifice,  or  worthy  and  desir- 
able action  of  any  kind,  it  is  very  important,  however,  to 
remember  how  crude  and  undeveloped  is  the  child's  conception 
of  these.  His  idea  of  bravery  attaches  itself  to  one  kind  of 
action  only — the  action  in  which  something  very  much  out 
of  the  ordinary  is  done — such  as  the  killing  of  wild  beasts, 
the  slaying  of  giants  and  dragons.  He  can  appreciate  the 
courage  of  St.  George  in  killing  the  dragon,  of  Perseus  in 
destroying  the  sea  monster  ;  but  it  is  a  much  more  difficult 
and  complex  process  for  him  to  reahze  the  heroism  in  such 
a  story  as  "  The  Leak  in  the  Dyke."  The  teller  has  to  make 
much  of  such  details  as  the  night  vigil,  the  solitude,  the  long 
spell  of  quiet.  The  child  must  be  helped  to  understand  the 
physical  suffering,  the  cold,  the  cramped  position  of  the 
limbs  and  of  the  whole  body,  the  strain  which  all  this  involved, 
and  lastly  the  suspense  and  wondering  fear  as  to  whether  or 
not  the  threatened  disaster  will  be  averted.  In  this,  and 
in  other  examples  of  quite  a  different  kind,  the  power  of  the 
story  is  unique  in  developing  and  broadening  the  child's  moral 
sense,  and  enabling  it  to  grasp  a  new  and,  to  him,  difficult 
situation.  It  offers  effective  training  in  other  ways.  Language 
is  helped,  and  the  child's  understanding  is  incidentally  built 
up.  The  gift  of  imagination  is  intensified,  for  in  the  story 
the  child  lives  again. 

What  the  Story  Demands  in  the  Teller. — ^To  ensure 
wise  and  educative  interpretation  of  a  story,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  teller  should  have  absolute  belief  in  its  power  to 
enrich  and  satisfy.  A  background  of  conviction  and  earnest- 
ness is  of  paramount  importance  to  her.  By  means  of  this 
she  is  placed  on  a  higher  level  with  regard  to  what  she  sets 
out  to  do,  and  the  effect  is  very  striking  on  the  children.  This 
attitude  of  strong  desire  frees  the  teller  from  all  self-con- 
sciousness, and  enables  her  to  give  herself  up  entirely  to 
what  she  is  doing.  She  fives  in  the  story.  This  earnestness 
emanates  from  her  in  all  possible  ways,  and  helps  to  initiate 
a  corresponding  mood  amongst  the  children.  It  modifies 
tone  of  voice,  facial  play  and  gesture,  indeed,  every  expres- 
sive act  comes  naturally  under  its  spell.  That  which  is  best 
in  her  radiates  to  the  class,  and  warms  into  life  seedhngs  of 
appreciation  and  desire,  which  a  colder  attitude  would  have 


8o  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

left  untouched.  The  atmosphere  thus  created  unconsciously 
affects  the  child  for  good  ;  but  a  simulated  earnestness  or 
artifically  created  manner  only  results  in  an  artificial  atmo- 
sphere which  children  are  quick  to  feel. 

The  next  important  demand  is  realizing  point  of  view — 
by  which  is  meant  ability  to  appreciate  the  attitude  of  others 
towards  any  particular  thought  or  action.  This  is  especially 
difficult  for  the  young  teacher,  but  it  is  possible.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  a  habit  of  looking  at  hfe  from  more  than  one  stand- 
point, and  remembering  that  every  question  has  two  sides, 
is  helpful  toward  this  end.  To  get  to  know  as  many  types 
of  people  as  one  can,  and  to  hear  their  views  upon  subjects 
in  which  we  have  a  common  interest,  is  of  value.  The  more 
we  know  of  human  nature,  the  better  are  we  able  to  act  as 
interpreters  to  the  children.  Such  study  makes  us  careful 
in  the  way  we  put  things — more  charitable,  less  hasty  in  our 
judgments,  better  able  to  see  things  as  they  really  are.  Many 
young  teachers  fail  to  get  at  the  child's  mind  because  of 
their  inabihty  to  reahze  its  point  of  view.  Preparation 
for  this  is  given  by  a  study  of  the  outlook  of  those  nearer  to 
us  in  development  than  the  child.  Their  different  views 
make  us  first  aware  of  the  fact  that  people  can  have  very 
varjnng  opinions  about  the  same  subject,  and  bring  different 
experiences  to  bear  on  it.  This  begets  in  one  a  habit  of  watch- 
fulness when  telling  a  story  to  a  class.  We  note  in  all  sorts 
of  ways  the  individual  response  to  what  is  being  told.  Power 
to  do  this  becomes  increasingly  sensitive  with  practice.' 

Breadth  in  Outlook  is  also  most  necessary.  Without  it 
there  is  a  lack  in  sense  of  proportion,  right  judgment  and 
power  to  give  due  place  and  weight  to  the  essence  of  the 
narrative.  One  must  be  appreciative  of  values  in  order  to 
do  justice  to  the  wealth  of  material  which  the  story  in  its 
all-round  aspect  gives.  It  is  of  vital  importance  to  remember 
that  our  choice  of  details  and  method  of  presentation  is  helping 
the  child  to  construct  its  theory  of  life.  If  we  fail  through 
poverty  of  outlook  to  give  him  his  data  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  his  constructive  effort  less  rich  in  hope,  joy,  and  incentive 
than  we  might,  we  are  doing  him  a  grievous  harm.  A  right 
grip  of  principles  and  their  bearings  upon  life  puts  one  in  the 
position  of  a  seer  to  the  child.  He  learns  through  our  inter- 
pretation that  each  phase  of  human  hfe  has  its  difficulties, 
its  compensations,  its  sorrows,  that  each  is  necessary  to  the 
whole.     We  inspire  him  to  live  nobly  and  well.     It  would 


LITERATURE  8i 

be  impossible,  for  example,  for  one  with  breadth  of  outlook 
to  give  to  a  class  the  impression  that  old  age  was  a  condition 
to  be  deplored,  and  hard  work  a  burden  too  heavy  to  be 
borne. 

A  good  visual  imagination  is  a  valuable  factor  in  the  story- 
teller's equipment.  1  It  gives  reality  to  description  and 
makes  the  story  live.  A  ready  command  of  language  is 
another  important  adjunct.  This  can  be  improved  by 
memorizing  good  poetry  and  prose,  by  rich  reading  and  oral 
practice  in  telling  stories  to  an  imaginary  class.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  a  literary  consciousness  is  a  necessity.  With  beginners 
the  vocabulary  is  often  limited,  and  the  power  to  describe 
with  clearness  and  ease  slight.  Perhaps  the  most  general 
fault  is  that  of  trusting  to  words  alone  to  initiate  states  of 
feeling.  It  means  but  little  to  the  child  mind  to  be  told, 
"  Tom  had  a  very  cruel  master,"  if  the  teller  leaves  it  at  that. 
She  must  in  her  telling  incorporate  some  activity  of  the 
master  characteristic  of  the  attribute.  If  we  wish  our  chil- 
dren to  realize  that  a  thing  is  beautiful  or  the  converse — 
the  treatment  must  give  the  beautiful  setting,  and  equally 
so  must  it  make  the  undesirable  things  unlovely.  The 
hsteners  should  feel  the  cruelty  and  decide  for  themselves  the 
character  of  the  man.  There  should  be  no  formulation  by 
the  teller. 

Beauty  of  voice  and  cultured  speech  are  of  more  than 
average  importance  in  equipment  for  this  side  of  educative 
work,  because  of  the  subtle  shades  of  meaning  which  they 
are  all  to  convey,  and  the  intense  delight  which  they  evoke. 
Children  are  keenly  responsive  to  beauty  of  voice,  and  all 
possible  means  should  be  taken  to  render  this  supple  instru- 
ment increasingly  more  dehcate  as  an  interpreting  agent. 

The  use,  however,  both  of  speech  and  voice,  must  be  simple 
and  natural — the  expression  of  genuine  feeling 

Selection  of  Material. — In  choosing  story  material, 
the  age  and  probable  development  of  the  children  must  be 
considered,  together  with  their  environment  and  possible 
experiences.  A  class  taken  from  the  slums  of  a  big  city  finds 
it  difficult  to  understand  and  enjoy  a  story  deahng  exclusively 
with  the  sights  and  sounds  of  country  hfe.  As  a  rule  the 
young  teacher  lacks  the  needful  skill  to  adapt  and  present 
such  material  in  an  intelligible  form  to  these  children.  This 
does  not  mean  the  exclusion  of  such  stories  from  all  town 
'  "You  must  see  what  you  say." 


82  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

schools,  but  only  in  extreme  cases,  when  intelligent  enjoyment 
is  impossible  through  lack  of  experience.  The  same  principle 
should  govern  the  choice  of  stories  for  very  young  children. 
For  such  stories  it  is  wise  to  draw  upon  one's  own  experience. 
Early  childish  pleasures  when  re-told  to  a  class  of  babies 
are  a  source  of  great  joy.  "  Little  ones  especially  delight 
in  stories  of  what  father  and  mother  did  when  they  were 
little,  or  what  happened  to  grandmother  when  she  went  on  a 
long  journey."  They  also  like  to  hear  about  themselves 
some  little  event  in  their  own  lives.  Nursery  rhymes  offer 
good  story  material  at  this  stage  ;  they  have  a  fixed  form 
both  in  thought  and  expression,  which  must  be  strictly  ob- 
served. 

The  story  must  appeal  to  the  teller.  She  must  love  it  if 
she  is  worthily  to  interpret  all  that  it  has  to  give.  "  Every 
story-teller  has  her  lines  of  limitation,"  as  well  as  an  aptitude 
toward  stories  of  a  certain  type.  She  would  not,  of  course, 
confine  herself  to  these,  but  would  experiment  with  all  kinds, 
because  appreciation  grows  with  effort  ;  but  until  she  has 
developed  some  skill,  she  would  be  wise  to  keep  to  those 
which  make  the  strongest  appeal  to  her.  What  she  enjoys 
she  is  more  likely  to  make  others  enjoy.  They  see  the  beauty 
through  her  appreciation. 

She  should  not  be  content  with  any  but  the  best  in  her 
search  for  story  material,  ^^'atered-down  classics  hinder 
rather  than  help  ;  young  students  who  lack  the  necessary 
knowledge  and  discrimination  which  right  choice  of  material 
demands  for  such  stories,  would  do  well  to  confine  themselves 
to  those  stories  which  bear  the  stamp  of  traditional  excel- 
lence. 

Preparation. — It  is  of  great  help  to  the  beginner  after 
reading  a  story  through,  many  times,  then  to  make  her  own 
notes  and  to  re-adapt  these  under  certain  headings. 

A  story  can  be  naturally  divided  into  four  parts,  as  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  St.  John. 

1.  The  beginning,  which  serves  as  a  means  of  introduction, 
and  brings  the  children's  minds  into  some  sort  of  relationship 
with  the  types  of  thought  and  action  which  the  story  is  to 
unfold.  Further,  it  rouses  interest  and  creates  an  attitude 
of  expectancy.  It  should  never  be  too  long.  It  occasionally 
happens  that  a  so-called  story  is  all  introduction  in  the  hands 
of  a  poor  teacher. 

2.  The  second  part,  which  consists  of  a  series  of  ordered 


LITERATURE  83 

steps  leading  to  the  climax.  These  must  be  clear,  definite, 
and  of  increasing  interest,  so  as  to  prepare  the  mind  for  what 
is  to  follow. 

3.  The  climax — the  culminating  point  of  the  story's  interest. 
Here  the  movement  of  the  child's  mind  rises  to  its  highest. 
This  is  the  crux  towards  which  everything  is  working,  and 
here  the  mental  life  for  the  time  being  finds  complete  satisT 
faction.  It  must  satisfy  all  the  expectancy  which  has  been 
aroused,  and  therefore  its  demands  upon  the  skill  of  the 
teller  are  severe.  All  her  art  has  to  be  called  into  play. 
There  is  no  more  common  weakness  amongst  story-tellers 
than  inability  to  give  the  climax  its  full  value. 

4.  The  end— the.  last  step  in  the  process.  This  is  somewhat 
reiterative  in  character.  It  gives  opportunity  for  revision 
of  certain  details,  which  in  a  sense  completes  the  whole,  and 
subjectively  indicates  a  condition  of  finahty,  without  which 
the  listener  loses  much  of  his  enjoyment.  A  thoroughly 
satisfying  ending  is  given  in  Mrs.  Ewing's  story  of  Timothy's 
Shoes. 

How  TO  Tell. — The  first  requisite  for  educative  telling  is 
to  know  your  story — know  it  in  the  sense  that  you  are  saturated 
with  its  thought  and  feeling.  You  have  lived  in  it  and  thought 
about  it  so  deeply  that  it  has  become  a  part  of  yourself.  An 
experienced  story-teller  has  said  :  "A  story  that  belongs  to 
me  is  the  one  I  love  to  tell.  It  belongs  to  me  because  I  have 
so  often  enjoyed  it  with  the  children.  The  first  time  I  tell 
a  story  is  never  so  successful  as  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  time." 
The  more  you  tell  a  really  fine  story,  the  more  it  means  to 
you  ;  you  get  at  the  heart  of  it — the  core — and  its  effect 
on  the  class  is  more  abiding  :  "  you  have  felt  its  power  and 
identified  the  quahty  of  its  appeal."  We  want  our  children 
to  share  in  this — how  are  we  going  to  do  it  ?  Something 
can  be  done  to  accomplish  this  at  the  outset.  Start  with 
the  conviction  of  power  to  beget  a  corresponding  response 
in  the  minds  of  the  listeners.  This  is  a  helpful  means.  Let 
the  whole  of  yourself  be  expressive  of  interest  and  enjoyment 
in  what  you  are  going  to  do.  If  you  are  not  actually  feeling 
it  try,  to.  If  you  cannot,  refrain  from  telling  that  particular 
tsory.  This  also  goes  far  towards  inducing  the  required  con- 
ditions. There  is  a  great  deal  of  the  subjective  in  an  attitude 
of  suggestion  which  unconsciously  reacts  on  the  children. 
To  know  your  story  in  this  sense  is  the  only  way  to  give  you 
confidence  and  that  ease  which  begets  spontaneity  in  treat- 


84  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

ment.     It  obviates  the  necessity  of  fumbling  for  words,  or  of 
thinking  twice  about  what  comes  next. 

Be  simple  and  natural  in  manner — be  yourself.  If  you 
know  your  story  and  really  feel  its  power,  you  can  leave  the 
expression  of  that  background  to  come  freely  at  the  behests 
of  the  moment.  A  studied  form  of  telhng  is  unnatural,  and 
may  not  at  all  suit  the  needs  of  the  moment ;  the  appeal  is 
so  much  stronger  and  healthier  if  it  is  direct  and  unstudied. 

Don't  memorize  the  words.  It  cripples  the  vitality  of  your 
appeal  when  you  recite.  The  adoption  of  such  treatment 
prevents  that  freedom  in  interplay  between  your  mind  and 
the  children's,  so  valuable  as  a  means  of  development.  When 
you  are  clothing  thought  in  your  own  words  at  the  moment, 
unconsciously  your  choice  of  language  is  modified  by  the  un- 
spoken needs  of  your  listeners.  This  will  be  evident  to  you  if 
you  consider  some  of  the  experiences  common  to  all  tellers. 
The  class  is  in  front  of  you — intent  and  eager — drinking  in 
not  only  what  you  have  to  say,  but  what  you  have  to  suggest, 
by  means  of  eyes,  play  of  features,  a  turn  of  the  head,  a  move- 
ment of  the  hand  ;  the  whole  body  shares  in  this  expressive 
activity.  What  can  you  do,  whilst  apparently  engrossed  in 
your  interpretation  ?  As  you  are  not  wholly  so,  you  have 
had  time  to  note  a  puzzled  look  on  the  face  of  a  child.  Imme- 
diately and  almost  unconsciously  you  know  what  that  means 
— something  has  not  been  understood.  So  you  readjust 
the  form  in  which  a  thought  has  been  given  ;  the  difficulty 
vanishes,  and  the  little  face  is  once  more  serene.  Adjustment 
as  the  result  of  intellectual  and  emotional  interplay  is  always 
going  on  ;  the  form  it  takes  may  not  be  verbal  ;  frequently 
a  look,  a  gesture,  a  change  in  the  inflexion  of  the  voice  does 
all  that  is  necessary.  Such  interplay  is  hardly  possible 
when  the  words  have  been  learned,  the  reciter  is  no  longer 
free.  She  is,  therefore,  less  hkely  to  be  sensitive  to  the 
child's  needs.  The  obligation  of  the  set  form  of  words,  and 
the  effective  utterance  which  the  memorizing  has  brought 
along  with  it,  set  up  a  barrier  between  her  and  the  children, 
and  she  is  no  longer  at  liberty  to  look  out  for  and  respond 
to  their  signs  of  need,  because  she  is  too  much  engaged  in 
getting  rid  of  the  burden  which  her  memory  has  imposed  upon 
her. 

Just  as  it  is  important  to  be  natural  in  manner,  so  is  it  of 
equal  importance  to  be  natural  in  speech.  Never  insult  the 
dignity  of  childhood  by  adopting  a  coaxing,  wheedhng  tone. 


LITERATURE  85 

or  one  suggestive  of  superiority.  The  voice  is  capable  of  so 
much  by  way  of  expressing  subtle  and  deUcate  shades  of 
meaning,  that  one  should  make  every  effort  to  develop  its  full 
beauty  and  get  such  mastery  over  it  as  artistic  use  demands. 

As  an  instance  of  effective  use  of  the  voice,  take  that  part 
of  the  Water  Babies  where  Tom  is  listening  to  the  sound  of 
the  church  bells.  Imitate  the  sound  of  distant  bells  as  softly 
and  sweetly  as  you  are  able,  and  then  give  :  "  Those  that 
wish  to  be  clean — clean  they  shall  be,"  as  a  sort  of  recitative. 
If  the  spirit  of  the  teller  is  right,  and  everything  that  leads 
up  to  this  is  equally  so,  a  most  profound  impression  is  made 
upon  the  children,  who  grasp  in  a  very  crude  way  the  meaning 
behind  it  all.  But  such  attempts  must  never  be  imitative, 
they  must  rise  spontaneously  as  the  result  of  the  feeling  and 
need  of  the  moment  created  by  the  children  who  are  the 
inspiration. 

Distinctness  in  enunciation  is  most  essential.  The  rate 
at  which  one  speaks  is  largely  determined  by  the  thought 
and  feeling  in  the  material,  and  sympathy  with  the  audience, 
right  pause  and  emphasis  being  the  outcome  of  these.  For 
example,  to  return  to  the  Water  Babies  :  Tom  taking  the 
sweets  from  the  cabinet  is  an  episode  which  demands  delibera- 
tion in  treatment.  His  attitude  is  one  of  caution  and  hesi- 
tancy throughout ;  he  does  not  at  first  give  way  to  tempta- 
tion ;  the  whole  process  is  very  gradual,  and  his  attitude  can 
most  effectively  be  brought  home  to  the  children  by  estab- 
lishing the  right  relationship  between  the  character  of  the 
episode  and  its  means  of  communication.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  treating  of  Tom's  meeting  with  the  Water  Babies,  the 
whole  idea  is  full  of  movement  and  joyful  anticipation,  there- 
fore the  speed  in  telling  is  accelerated,  establishing  a  harmony 
between  itself  and  the  narrative.  All  this  is  instinctive  to 
the  genuine  story-teller. 

Gesture,  in  story-telhng,  is  very  much  a  question  of  tem- 
perament ;  if  instinctively  used  it  is  right,  but  if  only  imita- 
tively  used  its  value  may  be  questioned.  Children  never 
respond  in  quite  the  same  way  to  external  touches  which 
are  not  genuinely  felt. 

The  same  idea  holds  good  with  facial  play  ;  some  need  it 
and  use  it  instinctively,  others  would  be  doing  an  injustice 
to  themselves  in  attempting  it.  \\e  must  be  true  to  ourselves 
if  we  desire  to  be  really  helpful  to  the  children. 

A  word  as  to  the  pointing  of  the  moral.     If  the  story  has 


86  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

been  properly  told,  this  is  quite  unnecessary,  and  if  it  has  not 
been,  it  is  useless — the  children  being  unready  for  its  declara- 
tion. In  any  case  the  moral  should  never  be  told.  \\'hen 
the  teller  meets  the  needs  of  the  children,  they  follow  every 
step,  and  each  assimilates  what  it  can  and  what  is  necessary 
for  it  in  its  own  way.  For  the  teller  to  step  in  with  a  formu- 
lated moral  is  suicidal  to  any  kind  of  ethical  development. 

The  ending  of  the  Water  Babies  offers  excellent  oppor- 
tunity for  following  the  working  of  the  children's  minds  in 
coming  to  their  own  conclusion  as  to  the  righteousness  of 
conduct.  The  confinement  of  Mr.  Grimes  in  the  chimney  is 
a  time  of  distress  for  them  ;  they  feel  the  situation  keenly 
from  Tom's  point  of  view  ;  they  cannot  imagine  how  he  is 
to  be  released,  and  they  do  want  Tom  to  have  some  return 
for  all  that  he  has  gone  through.  For  a  time  there  is  an  ele- 
ment of  dread  in  their  minds.  They  are  much  impressed  by 
Tom's  unselfishness  in  giving  up  what  was  pleasant  to  him, 
to  go  to  his  old  master's  assistance,  and  they  quite  realize 
all  that  he  suffers  in  doing  this.  The  fact  of  having  to  go 
alone — to  leave  Ellie — makes  a  profound  impression  ;  chil- 
dren understand  that  this  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  do,  and 
they  are  quite  proud  of  his  accomplished  effort.  The  part  he 
plays  in  setting  his  old  master  free  is  much  appreciated,  and 
there  is  considerable  expression  of  satisfaction  when  Mrs. 
Be-done-by-as-you-did  commends  him,  quite  apart  from  the 
reward  which  is  to  follow.  The  reward  comes  as  a  pleasur- 
able surprise — only  the  more  thoughtful  ones  grasp  its  pur- 
pose. 

Nothing  more  is  necessary — the  story  has  done  its  work. 

The  following  suggestions  may  be  useful  to  young  and 
inexperienced  story-tellers. 

The  position  of  the  class  is  important.  Children  should 
be  so  seated  that  each  has  opportunity  of  enjoying  to  the 
full  a  good  view  of  the  teller.  The  latter  should  not  be  too 
far  away  from  the  listeners — nor  so  near  as  to  give  the  idea 
of  being  on  top  of  them,  but  at  an  easy  speaking  distance  ; 
right  nearness  aids  sympathy. 

Everything  must  be  done  for  the  physical  and  intellectual 
comfort  of  the  child.  Restlessness  and  impatience  are  fre- 
quently the  outcome  of  wrong  position ;  the  child  wants  to 
see  and  cannot,  and  is  losing  much  of  the  interpretative 
charm  if  the  teller's  face  is  outside  its  range  of  vision  ;  and 
if  the  strain  is  prolonged,  interest  goes. 


LITERATURE  87 

The  interruption  of  the  thread  of  interest  by  questioning 
in  any  part  of  a  narrative  hardly  seems  justifiable.  If  there 
is  any  part  of  the  story  not  likely  to  be  understood,  embody 
the  explanation  of  this  as  part  of  the  whole  ;  but  to  interrupt 
the  mind  movement  of  the  class  in  order  to  satisfy  one's  self 
as  to  the  intelligent  grasp  of  one  detail  or  group  of  ideas, 
seems  unwarrantable. 

The  treatment  of  children's  questions  during  the  telling 
is  a  matter  that  must  for  the  most  part  be  left  to  the  dis- 
crimination of  the  teller,  and  the  needs  of  the  moment.  It 
is  difhcult  and  unwise  to  draw  hard  and  fast  rules  of  any 
kind :  there  must  be  freedom.  Much  questioning,  however, 
on  the  part  of  the  children,  shows  weakness  in  the  teller  ; 
she  has  failed  either  in  clearness  or  interest.  In  treating 
questions  which  do  arise,  the  teacher  should  in  her  answers 
lead  back  to  the  thread  of  the  story,  thus  incorporating  them 
as  a  part  of  the  whole,  so  that  there  shall  be  no  impression 
with  the  class  of  a  break  in  sequence.  In  any  case,  digression 
should  be  carefully  guarded  against. 

The  use  of  pictures,  too,  is  very  much  a  matter  of  individual 
judgment.  One  would  like  to  suggest  that  the  imaginative 
activity  of  the  child  may  be  spoilt  by  the  lavish  use  of  pictures, 
and  its  enjoyment  and  appreciation  modified  by  unwise 
choice. 

Information  giving  is  not  the  aim  of  the  story  at  all.  The 
story  is  a  work  of  art,  and  its  primary  function  is  to  furnish 
ideals  of  life.  Any  information  that  is  given  is  purely  inci- 
dental. 

In  meeting  the  common  demand  of  children,  "  Is  this 
story  true  ?  "  one  must  understand  by  this  question  :  "  Did 
these  events  actually  happen  ?  "  Here,  as  in  all  one's  dealings 
with  children,  nothing  but  absolute  honesty  is  right.  No 
one  is  more  keenly  aware  of  subterfuge  than  a  child,  and 
no  one  more  generous  in  its  realization  of  a  teacher's  inevitable 
limitations.  Underlying  truths  will  always  be  grasped  by 
the  child  as  far  as  its  development  admits,  but  it  is  not  to 
such  a  generalized  form  of  truth  that  the  question  refers. 
Many  mistakes  arise  because  the  teacher  puts  an  adult  con- 
struction upon  a  term  used  by  the  child  in  a  very  limited 
sense. 

Any  discovery  of  what  appears  to  the  child  as  dishonesty 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  acts  as  a  serious  deterrent  to  its 
moral  development. 


88  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

{b)   POETRY 

Froebel  tells  us  that  rhythmic  language  belongs  to  the 
early  youth  of  man — hence  verse  constitutes  a  factor  in  the 
development  of  the  race  as  much  as  the  story,  and  children 
show  an  instinctive  need  of  it.  It  must  have  been  within 
the  experience  of  most  of  us  to  note  how  much  we  increase  a 
baby's  enjoyment  of  his  inarticulate  babblings  when  we  help 
to  make  them  rhythmic.  If  he  knocks  one  object  against  an- 
other the  same  keen  manifestation  of  delight  is  seen  if  he  is 
helped  to  do  so  with  regularity.  The  early  utterances  of 
little  children  are  often  merely  rhythmic  repetitions  of  appar- 
ently "  meaningless  syllables."  This  need  for  rhythm  which 
such  examples  show  partly  explains  the  enjoyment  of  tlie 
young  in  dancing ;  the  world-wide  existence  of  this  enjoyment 
and  the  equally  wide  existence  of  Nursery  Rhymes  and  Cradle 
Songs,  mark  the  love  of  rhythm  as  a  common  hunger  of 
human  life  at  an  early  stage.  So  that  training  in  rhythm 
is  absolutely  necessary  if  we  base  our  choice  of  educative 
material  on  instinctive  needs.  Rhythm  is  one  manifestation 
of  law — regularity — -order  and  sequence  are  its  dominating 
features.  The  child  has  to  live  in  a  law-governed  world, 
and  it  is  of  vital  importance  to  him  to  be  got  ready  for  the 
recognition  of  this  fact  if  he  is  to  live  in  harmony  with  it. 
It  is  an  idea  that  can  only  come  to  him  very  slowly  because 
of  its  vastness,  but  its  significance  is  so  great  that  no  means 
should  be  overlooked  which  will  help  toward  this  end.  Ap- 
preciation of  rhythm  is  one  of  these.  During  this  preparation 
time  for  the  reception  of  the  idea  of  law ;  more  immediate, 
direct  good,  results.  The  re-action  upon  the  moral  side  is 
the  chief  of  these.  There  is  begotten  a  tendency  to  respond  to 
different  types  of  order  and  regularity;  this  tendency  develops 
with  the  child  and  later  shows  itself  in  more  controlled  action. 
By  the  help  of  good  verse,  in  which  rhythm  plays  a  dominating 
part,  the  teacher  is  able  to  increase  the  child's  sensitiveness 
to  beauty — especially  to  the  beauty  of  language— the  music 
of  words  begins  to  mean  something.  It  is  another  medium 
for  inducing  delicacy  of  response  to  light  and  shade,  for 
broadening  sympathy  and  calling  into  play  many  of  the 
finer  feelings  of  life,  and  as  a  final  result  of  its  teaching  it 
should  create  a  taste  for  literature  and  put  them  in  possession 
of  an  abiding  interest.  For  quite  little  children  nothing  is 
better  than  old  world  rhymes  and  cradle  songs.     They  are 


LITERATURE  89 

simple,  direct,  and  full  of  action.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  sing  a 
great  deal  to  very  little  children.  To  be  able  to  do  this  one 
needs  to  have  a  large  stock  of  rhymes,  jingles,  lullabies  and 
simple  songs,  so  as  to  have  material  suitable  for  all  sorts  of 
occasions.  I  would  advocate  its  use  at  any  time  if  the  teacher 
felt  its  helpfulness  and  need.  When  the  babies  are  nursing 
their  dollies,  nothing  gives  them  greater  pleasure  than  to 
softly  sing  a  lullaby  to  them  ;  they  instinctively  move  with 
the  rhythm,  and  it  gives  a  completeness  to  what  they  are 
doing  which  makes  that  doing  more  educative. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  them  to  sing — if  they  spontaneously 
join  the  song  well  and  good — but  it  is  of  the  greatest  moment 
to  them  to  have  this  kind  of  experience  which  listening,  and 
incorporating  the  spirit  of  what  they  are  listening  to,  involves. 
The  teacher  need  not  fear  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  voice. 
She  has  only  to  sing  softly,  and  there  is  no  more  strain  in  doing 
this  than  there  is  in  ordinary  speech.  It  is  also  helpful  to 
recite  all  kinds  of  poems  to  children  of  different  ages  ;  this 
they  enjoy  equally  with  the  singing,  and  it  helps  to  make 
them  much  more  conscious  of  the  lilt  and  power  of  verse. 
It  is  good,  too,  to  give  them  the  right  of  choice  as  to  what 
they  shall  learn  after  such  an  experience.  They  are  so  much 
more  alive  to  what  they  like.  The  following  are  a  few  of 
the  things  which  our  little  ones  ask  for  again  and  again  : — 

Weley  Wiley  had  a  hen. 
She  laid  eggs  for  gentlemen — 
Gentlemen  and  ladies  too, 
Weley  Wiley's  ain  hen. 

Weley  Wiley  had  a  coo. 
Black  and  brown  about  the  moo, 
Open  the  gate  and  let  her  through 
Weley  Wiley's  ain  coo. 

Poor  old  Gee. 

Beneath  the  willow  tree 

She  went  to  bye-bye, 

On  her  soft  grassy  pillow ; 

And  there  she  lay  till  the  dawn  of  day 

Sent  all  the  dark  away 

From  under  the  willow. 

These  two  are  sung.  They  were  dictated  to  us  by  a  very 
old  lady  who  was  in  the  habit  of  singing  them  to  her  grand- 
children. 

The  two  following  are  favourite  recitations  with  children 
of  the  same  aere  : — 


90  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

Speckeldy  hen,  speckeldy  hen — 

What  do  3'ou  do  in  my  garden  pen  ? 

You  scratch  up  my  flowers,  indeed  you  do, 

And  what  in  the  world  shall  I  say  to  you  ? 

Mother  will  scold  you — you  know  she  will. 

And  father  will  beat  you  for  doing  ill. 

And  I'd  just  like  to  know  what  you'll  do  then, 

You  dear  little  naughty  speckeldy  hen  ? 

Lullaby,  baby. 

Go  to  sleep. 

Eyes,  oh  !  how  naughty. 

Still  to  peep. 

Lullaby,  baby. 
Curl  up  your  toes. 
Cuddle  your  little  knees 
Up  to  your  nose. 

Lullaby,  baby. 
Eyes  shut  tight. 
Little  mouth  open. 
So,  good-night. 

But  all  this  is  only  by  the  way,  for  developing  the  child's 
appreciation  ;  when  it  is  intended  to  teach  a  rhyme  or  poem, 
some  different  method  must  be  followed.  The  poem  offers 
a  definite  series  of  ideas  in  a  fixed  form.  For  the  children 
to  understand  these  and  to  enjoy  this  mode  of  expression, 
they  must  be  got  ready  for  it.  This  entails  preparation 
which  will  give  them  the  necessary  experience.  The  prepara- 
tion is  of  the  greatest  importance.  It  must  give  them  neces- 
sary data  for  the  understanding  and  enjoyment  of  what  is 
to  follow.  There  are  various  ways  for  giving  this  experience. 
A  Nature  lesson,  a  story,  a  picture  talk,  or  a  conversation 
serves  the  purpose  admirably.  I  once  heard  the  story  of 
Mrs.  Tabby  Grey  given  to  a  class  of  young  children.  It  was 
most  suitable  in  preparing  for  the  enjoyable  memorizing  of 
the  words  of  the  song  which  followed.     This  was  it  : — 

Mother  Puss-Cat  sits  and  purrs. 
Says  no  cat  has  kits  like  hers  ; 

While  her  babies  roll  and  play, 
In  a  cradle  of  sweet  hay. 

Furry,  Frisky,  Dinkey,  Droll, 
One  wee  kitty's  black  as  coal ; 

One's  as  white  as  morning  milk — 
One  is  grey  and  soft  as  silk. 

For  children  between  five  and  seven   years  old,   poems 
should  be  chosen  which  are  simple  in  content,  treating  of 


LITERATURE  91 

incidents  in  which  action  plays  an  important  part.  The 
appeal  must  be  direct,  and  the  rhythm  well  marked.  Such 
poems  as  R.  L.  Stevenson's  "  Block  City,"  "  From  a  Railway 
Carriage,"  "  The  Wind,"  "  My  Shadow,"  "  The  Lamplighter," 
"  Bed  in  Summer "  ;  Eugen  Field's  "  Wynken,  Blinken  and 
Nod  "  ;  Kingsley's  "  Lost  Doll "  ;  "  The  Fairies,"  by  Ailing- 
ham,  are  examples  of  suitable  use.  The  following  are  favour- 
ites with  my  own  children  : — ■ 

The  Robin  to  His  Mate. 

Said  Robin  to  his  pretty  mate, 

"  Bring  here  a  Httle  hay. 
Lay  here  a  stick  and  there  a  straw. 

And  bring  a  httle  clay. 

"  And  we  will  build  a  pretty  nest — 

Wherein  you  soon  shall  lay 
Your  little  eggs  so  smooth,  so  blue — 

Come,  let  us  work  away. 

"  And  you  shall  keep  them  very  warm. 

And  only  think,  my  dear, 
'Twill  not  be  long  before  we'll  see 

Four  little  robins  here. 

"  They'll  open  wide  their  yellow  mouths 

And  we  will  feed  them  well, 
For  we  shall  love  the  little  dears. 

Oh  !  more  than  I  can  tell. 

"  And  while  "the  sun  is  shining  warm, 

Up  in  the  summer  sky, 
I'll  sit  and  sing  to  them  and  you 

Up  in  the  branches  high. 

"  And  all  night  long,  my  love,  you'll  sit 

Upon  the  pretty  nest, 
And  keep  the  little  robins  warm. 

Beneath  your  downy  breast." 

By  Mrs.  Carter. 

Stop,  Stop,  Pretty  Water. 

"Stop,  stop,  pretty  water," 

Said  Mary  one  day. 
To  a  frolicsome  brook 

That  was  running  away. 

"  You  run  on  so  fast, 

I  wish  you  would  stay. 
My  boat  and  my  flowers 

You  will  carry  away. 


92  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

"  But  I  will  run  after. 

Mother  says  that  I  may  ; 
For  I  would  know  where 

You  are  running  away." 

So  Mary  ran  on  ; 

But  I  have  heard  say. 
That  she  never  could  find 

Where  the  brook  ran  away. 

By  Mrs.  Follen, 

Song  of  the  Farmer's  Cart. 

O,  to  ride  !  O,  to  ride  !  with  the  farmer  at  my  side. 

Bramble  brushed  along  the  lane,  and  snow  swept  o'er  the  down  I 

When  it's,  "  Up.  Robin,  up  1  "  and  it's,  "Trot,  Robin,  trot," 
Out  along  the  open  road  that  takes  us  to  the  town. 

Winding  'twixt  the  tangled  hedgerows, 

Narrow  is  our  path  and  steep  I 

Snow  beneath  our  wheels  lies  deep. 

Snow  from  every  spray  hangs  light ; 

Rich  and  red  amid  the  white, 
Holly  high  on  either  hedge  grows. 

Where  in  summer-time  the  rill. 

Ran  to  work  the  water-mill. 

All  IS  silent  now  and  still — 

Pines,  snow-laden,  crown  the  hill. 
"  Come  up,  Robin  !  up  !  " — and  so- 
Onward  through  the  driving  snow — 
O,  now  we  go  galloping  over  the  heath  ! 
The  flakes  are  above  us,  the  drift  is  beneath  ; 
There's  miles  and  there's  miles  of  it,  far  as  you  see  I 
No  sign  of  a  cottage,  nor  sight  of  a  tree. 
In  all  the  great  world  of  white,  only  we  three — 
Just  Robin — old  Robin — the  farmer  and  me  I 
The  wind  carries  back  as  we  gallop  along, 
The  joy  of  my  shout  and  the  sound  of  his  song. 
But  oh  !  all  too  soon  it  is  over — we  pass — 
A  field  and  some  trees  and  a  cottage — alas! 
And  now  from  the  top  of  the  hill,  looking  down, 
See,  just  where  you  wouldnt  expect  it — the  town. 
And  downward  winding,  steady,  slow. 
Three  other  carts  before  us  go  ! 
Woa,  Robin,  Woa ! 

By  F.  V.  Barry. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  me  by  a  literary  friend  that  the 
old  simple  ballads  offer  the  best  material  for  the  next  stage. 
In  these  one  finds  the  narrative  given  in  the  simplest,  most 
direct  way,  the  feeling  and  style  quite  primitive  in  most 
cases,  and  when  the  verse  is  imperfect  the  rhythm  is  nearly 


LITERATURE  93 

always  strongly  marked.  Some  of  the  fairy  ones  about  Robin 
Goodfellow  give  the  myth-making  element,  and  the  heroic 
ones  in  all  the  collections  make  a  strong  appeal  to  the  older 
children.  Some  of  the  simpler  modern  ballads,  such  as 
"  How  they  brought  the  good  news,"  are  delightful  too. 
The  ballads  would  lead  on  to  the  novel  in  verse,  such  as  "  The 
Lady  of  the  Lake,"  and  probably  children  who  had  already 
had  stories  from  Morte  D' Arthur  would  appreciate  the  beauty 
of  "  The  Idylls  of  the  King  "  later  on.  After  they  have  begun 
history,  there  are  the  numberless  historical  ballads  to  choose 
from.  Children  in  the  early  stages  need  stories  in  verse 
with  a  straightforward  hero  and  chain  of  incidents,  plenty 
of  action,  and  not  much  description. 

Nature  poems,  however  beautiful,  are  not  in  these  early 
stages  always  suitable.  Many  of  them  are  too  vague  or  full 
of  "  mature  feeling  and  complex  ideals,"  for  which  the  chil- 
dren are  absolutely  unready.  In  the  teaching  of  verse,  as 
was  mentioned  in  a  previous  paragraph,  the  preparation  is 
of  vital  importance.  Such  experiences  must  be  offered  as 
will  enable  the  class  to  grasp  the  ideas  which  the  poem  sets 
forth ;  then  might  follow  the  reading  or  reciting  of  the  same 
by  the  teacher  :  the  children  being  now  in  a  position  to  realize 
and  enjoy  its  beauty  and  power,  the  actual  memorizing  with 
very  young  children  would  be  done  in  class,  and  could  be 
made  one  means  for  forming  a  habit  of  concentrative  effort, 
and  a  training  in  visualizing  power.  There  should  he  little  or 
no  simultaneous  work.  Such  a  method  is  dull  and  mechan- 
ical, stifling  anything  like  individual  thought,  and  offering 
a  premium  for  slovenly  speech  and  the  tendency  to  follow 
a  leader  rather  than  to  work  on  the  lines  of  independent 
effort.  No  little  child  at  this  stage  of  its  development  should 
be  expected  to  recite  poetry  for  effect.  In  this,  as  in  all 
other  interpretative  work,  freedom  makes  for  strength  and 
independence.  It  is  best  to  do  all  that  is  possible  in  the 
preparatory  stage  to  let  the  children  get  hold  of  the  thought, 
and  to  leave  the  working  out  of  the  expression  to  the 
individual. 

E.  M.   MiNHINNICK. 


94  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 


BOOKS    OF   REFERENCE 

Hearts  of  Oak,  Book  I  and  II.     Rhymes,  Jingles  and  Fables.     (Heath 

9i.) 
The  Story  Hour.     K.  D.  Wiggin.     (Gay  &  Hancock,  2s.  6d.) 
Andersen's  and  Grimm's  Fairy  Tales.     Everyman  Library,  I5. 
English  Fairy  Tales.     Jacob.     (Nutt,  65.) 
Beatrix  Potter  Books — e.g. 

1.  Peter  Rabbit  and 

2.  Squirrel  Nutkin. 

3.  The  Tailor  of  Gloucester,  etc. 

4.  Mrs.  Tiddy  Winkle.     (F.  Warne,   15.) 

The  Water  Babies.     Kingsley.     6d.     Illustrated  by  Linley  Sambourne. 

(Macmillan.) 
Mother  Stories    and    More    Mother    Stories.     (Maud   Lindsay,  2S.  6d. 

each). 
How  to  Tell  Stories  to  Children  and  Stories  to  Tell  to  Children.     S.  C. 

Bryant.     (Harrap,  25.  6d.  net  each.) 
Timothy's  Shoes.  \ 

The  Brownies.  \  Mrs.  Ewing.     (S.P.C.K.,  I5.) 

Daddy  Darwin  s  Dovecot.  a      \  >       1 

Lob-lie-by-the-fire.  ' 

The  Little  White  Bird.     (Barrie,  is.) 
The  Fairy  Book.     Miss  Mulock.     (Macmillan,  4s.) 
Kingsley' s  Heroes.     (Gowan,  6d.) 
Kipling's  Jungle  Books. 

Kuskin's  King  of  the  Golden  River.     (Allen,  6d.) 

At  the  Back  of  the  North    Wind     and   The   Princess  and   Curdie.     G. 
Macdonald.     (Blackie,  3s.  6d.) 

^T^°i^'  u       ^,    I.      \   Mrs.  Molesworth.     (Macmillan,  2s.  6d.) 

The  Cuckoo  Clock,     j  ^ 

The  Celtic   Wonder  World.     L.  C.  Thomson.     (Horace  Marshall,   is.) 

Legends  of  Greece  and  Rome.     Kupfer.     (Heath  &  Co.,  2s.  6ti.  net.) 

Fitty-two  Stories  of  Classic  Heroes.     Storr.   (Hutchinson.) 

Tales  of  Ancient  Greece.      Cox.      (Kcgan  Paul,  6s.) 

A  Child's  Book  of  Saints.     W.  Canton.     (Dent,  is.) 

Hiawatha  Primer.     (A.   Bird,  22,  Bedford   Street,  Strand,  or  Harrap, 

IS.  6d.) 
Two  Little  Savages.     Seton  Thompson.     (Constable,  6s.) 
The  Greenwood  Tree.     (Arnold,   is.  3<f.) 
A  Book  of  Saints  and  Friendly  Beasts.     A.  F.  Brown. 
Wood   Magic.     Jeffries.     (Longmans,    3s.    dd.) 
Bimbi.     Ouida.     (Chatto,  2s.) 
Fairy  Tales.     (Ginn  &  Co.,  is.  6d.) 
Pilgrim's  Progress.     (Ginn   &   Co.,    is.) 
The  Book  of  Romance.     A.Lang.     (Longmans.) 
The  Heroes  of  Asgard.     Keary.     (Macmillan.)  , 

The  Story  of  the  J  Had     Church.         |   geeley,  6d.  each. 
The  Story  of  the  Odyssey.  Church,  j  ■' 

In  (he  Children's  Garden.     Schofield.     (Phihp  &  Son,  5s.) 


LITERATURE  95 

POETRY 

Hearts  of  Oak  Poetry  Books.     (Heath,  is.  6d.  each.) 

A  Child's  Garden  of  Verse.     R.  L.  Stevenson.     (Longmans.) 

Little  English  Poems.     Lettice  Thomson.     (Horace  Marshall.) 

The  Golden  Staircase  Series oiFoeias.     Edward  L.  Chisholm.     In  parts. 

(Jack,  3^.) 
Series  of  Children's  Poems.     Miss  M.  A.  Wood. 
Lyra  Heroica.     W.  S.  Henley. 
C.  L.  Thomson's  Book  of  Ballads. 

Edgar's  Treasury  of  Verses  for  Little  Children.     (Harrap.) 
A  Book  of  Verses  for  Children.     E.  N.  Lucas.     (Grant,  Richards,  6s.) 
Poems  for  Junior  Schools.     L.  Thomson.     (Horace  Marshall,  is.) 


HANDWORK 

(a)  THE  CULTIVATION   OF  ARTISTIC  TENDENCIES 
IN  YOUNG   CHILDREN 

In  the  course  of  our  studies  of  child  art,  we  can  trace  the 
growth  and  development  of  rudimentary  tendencies  as  they 
are  exhibited  in  the  free  and  unaided  constructions  of  the 
children,  and  our  observations  will  be  a  guide  in  the  planning 
of  a  scheme  of  work  which  is  to  form  part  of  the  school  curri- 
culum. 

At  first  those  activities  which  later  on  result  in  artistic 
effort  form  three  distinct  groups  : — 

Group  I.  Picture  Language. — ^The  kind  of  drawing  in 
the  course  of  which  the  child  produces  outline  pictures  repre- 
senting human  beings,  animals,  plants  and  industrial  pro- 
ducts, is  made  constant  use  of  from  infancy  to  the  age  of 
eight  or  ten  years.  Every  one  of  these  objects  represents 
a  type  and  shows  few  or  no  signs  of  distinctive  individuahty. 
Thus  the  body  of  a  man  is  a  square,  triangle,  oblong,  the  head 
is  round,  legs  and  arms  are  generally  represented  by  straight 
lines,  but  no  attention  is  paid  to  exact  place  of  attachment  : 
buttons  in  a  long  row  are  often  the  only  indication  of  clothing. 
This  is  simply  an  enumeration  of  some  of  the  features  which 
are  common  to  the  class  man,  and  the  number  of  these  features 
depends  on  the  extent  of  the  child's  observation  and  know- 
ledge. Each  child  has  a  particular  drawing  for  man,  tree, 
chicken,  dog,  flovv'er,  house,  etc.,  and  these  drawings  are 
symbols  to  him  for  all  he  knows  of  these  particular  objects, 
and  he  will  use  them  always  in  the  same  form  in  a  process 
of  graphic  description.  More  and  more  he  will  tend  to  record 
incidents  in  his  daily  hfe  by  means  of  suitable  grouping  of 
such  symbols,  and  can  communicate  his  thought  to  others 
by  their  aid.  The  whole  process  is  clearly  a  form  of  picture- 
writing,  and  possesses  none  of  the  qualities  of  perceptual 
representation. 


ARTISTIC  TENDENCIES  97 

As  the  little  artist  grows  older  these  pictures  wiU  increase 
in  complexity  of  symbols,  the  children's  wider  experience 
and  range  of  observation  supplying  ever  new  elements. 

It  is  for  the  telling  and  illustration  of  stories  that  this  form 
of  drawing  is  generally  employed  by  the  children  in  school ; 
and  inasmuch  as  this  mode  of  expression  is  of  their  own 
choosing  and  is  quite  universal  among  children,  teachers  are 
fully  justified  in  encouraging  it,  and  should,  in  all  but  the 
earliest  stage,  give  help  and  guidance.  This  help  does  not 
take  the  form  of  drawing  on  the  blackboard,  so  that  the 
children  might  copy,  but  in  leading  the  children  to  notice 
and  record  more  characteristic  details,  and  especially  showing 
them  how  to  introduce  movement  and  action  into  the  figures 
of  their  picture.  \\'iththe  help  of  a  critical  study  of  pictures, 
and  by  actually  grouping  objects,  the  children  should  learn 
to  record  space-relations,  such  as  foreground  and  background, 
differences  in  relative  size  due  to  distance,  etc.  Throughout 
it  will  be  necessary  to  stimulate  the  children's  imagination 
by  suitable  questioning  and  general  conversation,  and  by 
sympathetic  interest. 

Group  II.  Decoration. — From  the  half  unconscious 
rocking  to  and  fro  to  the  clapping  of  hands  and  stamping  of 
feet,  to  the  punctuation  of  time  in  poem  and  song,  rhythm 
has  ever  played  an  important  part  in  the  aesthetic  education 
of  children.  Whenever  children  involuntarily  and  often 
unconsciously  move  some  part  of  their  body  repeatedly  in 
the  same  way,  they  become  aware  of  it,  show  every  sign  of 
pleasure,  and  continue  the  movement  rhythmically  for  some 
time.  They  will  in  the  same  way  often  sing  or  shout  the 
same  word  or  group  of  words  for  some  time  with  evident 
enjoyment.  This  pleasure  in  regularity  and  rhythm  is  of 
an  aesthetic  nature,  and  is  of  great  importance  in  musical  and 
artistic  education. 

The  making  of  borders  and  other  patterns  is  an  outcome 
of  this  same  innate  tendency.  They  show  the  rhythm  of 
space  and  form.  The  children  may  make  the  spots,  rounds 
or  other  units  in  a  haphazard  way,  but  as  soon  as  these  form 
a  row  or  some  other  regular  arrangements,  they  will  express 
pleasure  and  continue  the  process.  Since  such  arrangments 
give  pleasure,  they  are  consciously  adopted  whenever  oppor- 
tunity presents  itself.  Thus  often  in  picture  writing,  when 
the  man-symbol  is  used  with  a  triangular  surface  for  the 
body,  so  as  to  represent  a  woman,  the  base  of  the  triangle  is 

H 


98  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

decorated  with  a  deep  border  to  show  that  the  woman  is  a 
queen  \vith  richly  trimmed  garment.  In  the  same  way,  if 
the  children  play  on  the  sandheap  and  mark  off  a  particular 
area  for  their  garden,  they  generally  make  the  boundary  Une 
into  some  sort  of  a  pattern.  Observations  seem  to  lead  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  earhest  traces  of  activities  that  have 
artistic  value,  both  in  the  history  of  the  individual  and  of  the 
race,  seem  to  be  picture  writing  and  pattern  decorations. 

Group  III.  Creative  Activities. — Whatever  is  strikingly 
beautiful  awakens  a  desire  for  imitation.  We  find  that  even 
little  children  want  to  make  things  that  appeal  to  them  very 
strongly.  If  they  are  supplied  with  material  that  can  easily 
be  manipulated,  such  as  sand,  clay,  paper,  etc.,  they  will  of 
their  own  accord  "  make  "  things  in  which  they  were  specially 
interested.  It  will  be  noticed  that  here,  as  in  the  case  of 
picture  writing,  the  models  produced  are  again  rarely  Uke- 
nesses  of  particular  things  but  simply  type  forms.  Since 
this  is  so,  and  the  model  only  represents  an  enumeration  of 
essential  features,  we  can  understand  that  the  children  can 
dispense  with  colour. 

It  is  not  only  in  actual  clay-modelling  that  the  children 
can  "  make  "  things,  but  paper-cutting  and  cardboard  model- 
ling afford  similar  opportunity.  All  these  occupations  form 
the  basis  of  that  section  in  the  school  curriculum  which  is 
called  "  handwork." 

In  accordance  with  these  general  observations,  and  by  the 
aid  of  constant  reference  to  the  children's  free  and  spontaneous 
activities,  it  is  possible  to  prepare  a  scheme  of  instruction 
which  has  direct  relation  to  child-nature  and  must  make  for 
good. 

Such  a  scheme  must  be  graduated,  keeping  pace  with  the 
growing,  changing  children.  It  is  impossible  to  make  the 
different  stages  correspond  to  definite  years  of  life,  as  the 
whole  work  is  so  strongly  affected  by  general  conditions  of 
home  and  school  life.  As  the  sequence  of  the  stages,  however, 
is  fairly  constant,  and  the  difference  is  chiefly  one  of  rate  of 
development,  the  scheme  of  work  can  easily  be  adapted  to 
the  needs  of  a  class  by  any  discerning  teacher. 

STAGE  I  (Average  Age,  5-6) 

Free  Drawing. — {a)  The  children  should  be  given  exercise 
in  drawing  perfectly  freely  whatever  they  hke.  During  this 
process  the  teacher  should  go  from  one  child  to  another  in 


ARTISTIC  TENDENCIES  99 

class  and  hear  what  the  children  have  to  say  about  their 
drawings.  If  these  drawings  are  executed  on  paper  they 
should  be  kept  for  reference.  The  teacher  may  glean  from 
them  the  general  taste  and  inclination  of  the  class,  and  dis- 
cover the  special  difficulties  with  which  the  children  have 
to  contend.  In  this,  as  in  every  other  form  of  drawing,  the 
children  should  be  supplied  with  crayons,  chalks  or  soft 
pastels,  all  of  which  offer  little  resistance  and  require  a  light, 
well  controlled  touch.  In  order  to  get  the  best  effect,  rough 
paper  should  be  used.  Fairly  stout  brown  paper  produces 
good  results. 

Clay  Modelling. — {b)  In  Nature  lessons  specially,  objects 
are  presented  to  the  children  that  make  a  strong  appeal  to 
them,  exciting  their  curiosity  and  wonder,  and  awakening  in 
them  a  desire  for  imitation  or  for  some  constructive  act  in 
which  the  object  plays  an  essential  part.  Both  these  impulses 
should  be  encouraged,  and  should  find  expression. 

The  most  suitable  material  for  purposes  of  "  making " 
given  natural  objects  is  clay  or  plasticine.  Such  modelHng 
should  follow  immediately  upon  a  nature  lesson.  It  will 
be  found  here,  as  in  the  schematic  form  of  drawing,  that  the 
children  will  not  model  the  particular  object  in  front  of  them, 
but  will  state  their  knowledge  concerning  the  distinctive 
features  of  the  class  to  which  the  object  belongs.  Thus  a 
child  may  make  an  oblong  potato,  although  his  own  is  nearly 
round,  and  the  "  eyes  "  that  he  carves  into  it  correspond 
neither  in  number  nor  in  position  with  those  of  his  model. 
Many  teachers  look  upon  this  as  an  act  of  carelessness,  but 
inasmuch  as  it  is  a  universal  feature  of  baby-art,  it  cannot 
be  looked  upon  as  a  defect.  It  is  the  teacher's  function  to 
lead  the  child  from  mak  ng  conventional  models  to  modelling 
from  nature  or  at  least  from  memory.  This  requires  persist- 
ence, patience  and  individual  attention.  The  teacher  should 
point  out  one  or  more  characteristic  marks  of  the  individual 
and  suggest  its  being  recorded.  In  later  years  the  children 
will  themselves  wish  to  represent  their  own  particular  speci?' 
men,  and  will  therefore  refer  to  it  to  find  out  its  peculiarities. 

We  would  advocate  that  the  children  were  shown  from 
the  beginning  right  methods  of  procedure.  Thus,  though  a 
little  child  may  pick  up  a  lump  of  clay  from  the  bank  and 
fashion  it  into  the  likeness  of  a  dog,  it  is  as  well  that  as  soon 
as  he  is  able  to  receive  instruction  in  this  work,  he  be  shown 
how  to  produce  models  that   are  more  permanent.     Some 


ibo  EDUCATION   BY  LIFE 

sort  of  a  base  should  be  provided.  As  the  making  of  a  day 
base  is  in  itself  a  fairly  difficult  exercise  and  one  that  takes 
much  time,  the  teacher  should  obtain  a  number  of  little 
boards  that  have  a  rough  unplaned  surface,  such  as  may  be 
cut  from  any  deal  packing  case.  If  such  boards  are  moistened 
they  form  an  excellent  foundation  for  models.  The  clay 
must  not  be  too  wet,  so  as  to  soil  the  hands  unnecessarily, 
but  it  must  be  wet  enough  to  adhere  well. 

The  model  must  be  built  up  from  small  pieces.  Each  of 
these  must  be  worked  and  rolled  first  between  the  thumb 
and  the  first  finger.  This  process  ensures,  first,  that  the  clay 
is  well  kneaded,  and,  secondly,  the  sense  of  touch  is  employed 
in  estimating  quantity.  The  latter  is  important  training, 
and  often  shows  marked  results  in  the  development  of  children. 
Care  must  be  taken  that  all  projecting  parts,  such  as  the 
petal  of  flowers,  ears,  etc.,  of  animals  rest  upon  a  clay  support, 
which  in  its  turn  has  been  firmly  built  up  from  the  wood  or 
clay  foundation. 

Pattern  Making. — (c)  Since  the  inherent  sense  of  rhythm 
in  children,  showing  itself  in  movement  in  time,  becomes 
gradually  more  complex,  we  find  that  rhythmic  movements 
of  the  hand  holding  a  pencil  or  brush  will  produce  marks 
that  show  rhythmic  space  relations,  and  the  marks  constitute 
a  pattern.  As  soon  as  the  desire  for  decoration  awakens, 
patterns  are  used  for  this  purpose.  At  the  age  of  about  five 
years  there  is  not  yet  any  marked  desire  for  decoration,  but 
ample  opportunity  and  exercise  should  be  given  in  rhythmic 
activity,  be  it  in  song  or  muscular  movement.  As  regards 
the  making  of  patterns,  it  is  suggested  that  the  children  make 
spots  on  paper  with  chalk  or  brush  at  regular  intervals  of  time, 
or  that  they  make  pits  with  their  finger  tips  in  sand  trays, 
or  lay  split  pens,  counters  or  shells  upon  millboards.  Later, 
when  the  children  are  conscious  of  space  rhythm  apart  from 
muscular  movement  in  time,  the  patterns  may  be  considerably 
increased  in  complexity  and  manipulative  difficulty.  Thus 
pebbles,  large  seeds,  shells,  small  leaves,  petals  of  flowers, 
counters  might  be  arranged  in  patterns  on  sand,  millboards 
or  paper. 

Other  aspects  of  the  process  of  pattern  making  may  be  dealt 
with  in  some  time-honoured  play.  Thus  the  making  of  chains 
of  various  natural  and  other  material  may  be  begun  at  this 
stage,  and  carried  out  in  more  complicated  form  at  successive 
later  periods.     The  children  may  be  supplied  with  carpet 


ARTISTIC   TENDENCIES  loi 

thread  and  blunt  needlo'^,  and  string  large  seeds  that  have 
previously  been  soaked  to  render  them  soft.  Thus  black, 
yellow,  crimson  and  white  haricot  beans  may  be  bought  quite 
cheaply  ;  scarlet  runner  beans,  butter  beans,  green  and  yellow 
peas,  sunflower  and  pumpkin  seeds  are  all  suitable  material. 
Interesting  colour  schemes  repeated  regularly  can  be  devised 
by  the  children.  This  will  be  excellent  practice  in  counting. 
The  question  of  expense  is  always  serious,  especially  where 
very  large  classes  are  concerned  ;  but  the  fact  that  there  are 
teachers  who  cannot  find  ways  and  means  of  supplying  the 
children  with  such  material,  must  not  prevent  others  who  are 
more  fortunately  placed  in  this  respect,  from  attempting  such 
work. 

STAGE  II  (Average  Age,  6-7) 

Picture  Writing. — Instead  of  the  unguided  free  drawing 
in  the  lower  stage,  when  even  the  subject  is  left  to  the  choice 
of  the  children,  the  teacher  should  now  direct  the  work,  the 
teaching  taking  the  form  of  suggestion  and  later  of  de- 
finite instruction.  Following  upon  every  nature  le-son  a 
drawing  lesson  should  be  a  ranged.  In  this  the  chief  and 
characteristic  features  of  the  object  should  be  enumerated. 
so  that  they  may  all  be  mentioned  in  the  drawing ;  and  it 
should  be  suggested  to  the  children  that  they  should  next 
show  the  object  doing  something,  e.g.,  bunny  eating  a  cabbage 
— the  rabbit  and  the  cabbage  having  been  present  in  the 
previous  lesson,  and  being  still  in  the  room  and  available  for 
reference  should  this  be  necessary. 

In  connexion  with  story  lessons,  be  these  of  a  literary, 
geographical  or  historical  character,  drawing  is  of  great 
value,  as  it  is  an  incentive  to  clear  mental  picturing ;  or  at 
least,  in  the  case  of  children  who  have  little  or  no  power  of 
visual  memory,  the  orderly  arrangement  of  definite  ideas  is 
ensured. 

As  regards  figure  drawing,  so  constantly  required  in  the 
illustration  of  stories,  some  elements  of  pose  and  action  might 
gradually  be  introduced.  To  ensure  this  the  following  mode 
of  procedure  has  had  excellent  results. 

In  many  Kindergarten  and  Infant  schools,  stick-laying 
is  an  exercise  in  handwork  often  adopted  in  connexion  with 
pattern  making  and  in  picture  writing,  involving  muscular 
control  of  the  fingers.  If  sticks  are  not  available,  matches 
with  the  phosphorous  end  removed  answer  the  purpose.     It 


102  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

is  best  to  provide  the  children  with  millboards  or  brown  paper, 
as  the  matches  move  too  easily  on  the  polished  desks.  A 
counter  or  a  chalk  mark  may  represent  the  head ;  the  neck 
and  body,  being  fairly  rigid,  will  be  described  by  one  or  two 
sticks  vertically  below  the  head.  Arms  and  legs  are  then 
arranged  so  as  to  touch  the  body  a  little  below  the  top  and 
a  little  above  the  bottom  of  the  sticks  respectively.  It 
requires  some  demonstration  by  means  of  a  child  in  the  class 
to  lead  the  little  artists  to  discover  that  two  sticks  are  neces- 
sary for  each  limb.  The  advantage  of  this  picture  is  that 
the  position  of  the  parts  can  be  changed  in  imitation  of  the 
change  of  the  position  of  the  person  to  be  represented.  Much 
and  varied  practice  should  be  given  in  the  translation  of  the 
pose  of  some  child  standing  as  model  into  the  corresponding 
arrangement  of  sticks.  After  a  considerable  period  of  time, 
when  the  pupils  have  learnt  to  lay  their  sticks  with  certainty 
and  precision,  they  may  attempt  to  make  chalk  lines  of  uni- 
form length  instead  of  laying  down  matches.  From  the 
outset  the  children  should  draw  the  lines  very  Hghtly,  so 
that  when  they  can  draw  the  pose  of  their  model  correctly, 
they  can  draw  garments  in  colour  and  in  mass  treatment 
over  the  chalk  lines,  thus  making  their  figures  available  for 
use  in  the  illustrations  of  their  stories. 

A  problem  arising  out  of  the  work  in  this  stage  is  exercising 
the  minds  of  many  teachers,  viz.,  whether  the  picture  should 
be  executed  in  mass  or  in  outline. 

It  will  always  be  found  that  picture  writing  is  a  form  of 
outline  drawing  both  in  the  case  of  the  Httle  children  with 
whom  we  are  concerned,  and  of  the  more  primitive  people 
who  have  made  use  of  it.  We  cannot,  therefore,  insist  on 
mass  drawing  quite  apart  from  the  fact  that  the  forms  repre- 
sented are  often  too  complicated  to  colour  without  the  use 
of  outline.  It  will,  however,  be  found  that  at  this  stage  the 
mere  outline  no  longer  satisfies,  the  pictures  are  passing  fro  ii 
the  symbol  stage  to  pictures  of  real  things ;  consequently 
colour  can  no  longer  be  dispensed  with,  and  tlie  surfaces 
representing  clothes,  bodies,  etc.,  are  invariably  coloured. 
Since  this  is  the  normal  and  natural  mode  of  procedure,  it 
might  as  well  be  adopted  in  school  work. 

The  case  is  somewhat  different  with  those  drawings  that 
follow  upon  Nature  lessons.  Most  of  the  objects  studied 
have  no  symbol  in  the  picture  alphabet  of  the  little  child, 
the  s3mibol  "  flower  "  is  not  adequate  when  daisy,  buttercup 


ARTISTIC  TENDENCIES  103 

and  daftodil  are  studied  in  succession.  The  children,  therefore, 
are  predisposed  to  draw  either  from  memory  or  from  the 
object.  In  both  cases  the  representation  is  a  picture,  and 
colour  plays  a  most  important  part ;  in  fact,  form  is  only 
the  boundary  of  colour.  It  follows  from  this  that  brushwork 
or  crayon  work  without  outline  is  a  natural  form  of  expression. 

It  is  only  in  the  later  part  of  the  stage  that  painting  in 
water-colour,  using  more  than  one  colour,  can  be  adopted  in 
schools  where  the  classes  are  large  and  funds  limited,  as  the 
loss  of  time  and  of  material  that  is  incurred  is  a  serious  con- 
sideration. Good  crayons  are  therefore  preferable  if  they 
are  supplied  in  boxes  and  the  children  allowed  to  select  their 
own  colours.  This  opens  up  a  much  vexed  question.  Ex- 
pense is  a  great  consideration  in  almost  all  educational  insti- 
tutions where  the  scholars  are  admitted  free  or  at  very  low 
fees,  and  consequently  cheap  and  often  quite  unsatisfactory 
material  is  supplied  to  the  children.  Not  only  are  cheap 
crayons  either  gritty  and  so  powdery  that  only  untidy  work 
can  be  the  result,  or  they  are  so  hard  and  waxy  that  the 
children  develop  the  habit  of  hard,  forced  drawing.  In 
addition  to  these  defects  the  colours  are  crude  and  muddy, 
so  that  the  children's  colour  taste  must  be  perverted.  Soft 
pastel  crayons,  such  as  Reeve's  Greyhound  Pastels,  supplied 
in  tin  boxes  in  twelve  colours,  answer  the  purpose  specially 
well.  It  cannot  be  urged  too  strongly  that  the  greatest 
imiportance  be  attached  to  the  subject  of  colour  presentation 
to  children.  When  the  time  comes  for  brush-work  with  water- 
colours,  this  same  problem  becomes  even  more  serious. 
Theoretically  we  desire  that  the  children  are  supplied  with 
paint-boxes,  containing  three  to  six  colours,  and  that  from 
the  outset  they  are  allowed  to  prepare  their  own  paint,  con- 
stant and  careful  directions  being  given  to  avoid  waste.  This 
is  quite  possible  in  Kindergartens  where  classes  are  small, 
and  where  the  children  generally  supply  their  own  paint- 
boxes. In  our  elementary  schools  the  teacher,  for  want  of 
adequate  supply  of  material,  is  generally  obliged  to  mix  the 
colours  to  an  average  tint  and  give  it  to  the  children  in  this 
form.  Needless  to  say,  no  individual  differences  in  colour 
can  be  recorded,  if  noticed,  and  worse  still,  wrong  colour 
must  often  be  used.  The  children  are  thus  deliberately  taught 
to  make  untruthful  representations,  and  their  colour  sense 
and  judgment  must  become  perverted. 

Clay  Modelling. — As  in  the  case  of  drawing,  modelling 


104  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

from  the  object  will,  by  degrees,  take  the  place  of  modelling 
from  memory.  It  is  important  that  very  simple  forms  are 
studied  for  this  purpose,  such  as  will  exhibit  very  few  dis- 
tinctive features.  Thus  a  particular  potato  differs  in  very 
few  respects  from  our  general  notion  of  a  potato.  Those 
few  points  must  be  the  subject  of  special  attention. 

Pattern  Making. — Exercises  should  be  given  to  children 
in  the  arrangement  of  geometrical  patterns  showing  individual 
taste.  Thus  fragments  of  coloured  paper  of  particular  shape 
may  be  prepared  by  the  children,  and  these  arranged  in  a 
symmetrical  way  upon  pieces  of  paper  with  or  without  squares 
or  other  guiding  hues.  The  fragments  can  easily  be  moved 
and  altered  in  arrangement,  hence  the  children  can  experiment 
to  their  heart's  content.  The  paper  shapes  may  finally  be 
pasted  down,  or  the  pattern  reproduced  by  means  of  water- 
colours. 

C.  VON  Wyss, 

BOOKS   OF   REFERENCE 

Principles  and  Methods  of  Teaching.     J.Welton.    (W.  B.  Clive,  55  6d.) 
Die  Entwickhing  der  Zeichnerischen  Begabung.     Georg  Kerschensteiner. 
(Carl  Gerbes,  Munich.) 


(&)  INDUSTRIAL   HANDWORK 

To  trace  the  gradual  growth  of  the  principle  which  has 
resulted  in  making  handwork  an  educational  factor  is  interest- 
ing and  instructive.  It  is  difficult  to  say  when  or  by  whom 
the  idea  was  first  propounded,  but  as  an  idea,  first  only  m 
theory,  but  later  in  practice,  it  has  firmly  gained  ground. 
Outside  the  field  of  recognized  educational  reformers,  parents 
have  held  that  children  must  learn  to  do,  and  have  often 
undertaken  this  part  of  their  children's  education  themselves. 
Handwork  doubtless  constituted  the  sole  education  of  the 
primitive  boy  ;  it  was  a  large  part  of  the  education  of  the 
apprentice,  and  at  the  present  day  tlie  child  of  the  farmer 
and  the  fisher  takes,  as  a  rule,  an  active  part  in  his  father's 
work,  and  profits  accordin^^ly,  not  in  the  skill  he  acquires  in 
farming  or  fishing,  but  in  all  round  capacity  and  intelligence. 

To  return  to  the  more  professedly  educational  field  we  find 
a  strong  plea  for  handwork  in  Comenius'  Schvol  of  I nfancy,  in 
the  whole  of  his  chapter  on  "  Activity  and  Expression."  The 
following  shows  his  estimate  of  its  value,     .'\fter  suggesting 


INDUSTRIAL   HANDWORK  105 

tools  and  materials  he  says  :  "  With  the-^e  they  may  amuse 
themselves,  thus  exercising  their  bodies  to  health,  their 
minds  to  vigour,  and  their  bodily  members  to  agihty  .  .  . 
in  a  word,  wliatever  children  delight  to  play  with,  provided 
that  it  be  not  hurtful,  they  ought  rather  to  be  gratified  than 
restrained  from  it,  for  inactivity  is  more  injurious  to  both 
body  and  mind  than  anything  in  which  they  can  be  occupied." 
We  find  Rousseau  rather  takes  for  granted  that  in  his  free 
life  Emile  shall  work  with  his  hands  :  but  a  most  interesting 
phase  through  which  the  principle  passes  is  developed  by 
Pestalozzi.  At  first  he  regarded  the  teaching  of  handwork 
as  a  means  by  which  the  children  of  the  rather  degraded 
peasants  who  lived  around  him,  should  be  self-supporting 
and  consequently  self-respecting.  So  far  was  he  from  regard- 
ing it  as  educative  in  itself,  that  he  tried  to  educate  the 
children  as  they  worked. 

At  Stanz  he  gave  up  this  attempt,  for  he  says  : 

"  I  tried  to  connect  study  with  manual  labour,  the  school 
with  the  work-hop  and  make  one  thin,;  of  tliem.  ...  I 
saw  clearly  that,  befo  e  any  fusion  could  be  effected,  the  two 
parts  must  be  firmly  established  separately — study,  that  is, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  labour  on  the  other." 

We  are  left  uncertain  as  to  his  ultimate  views  on  its  value, 
but  some  kind  of  educational  sensitiveness  evidently  urged 
him  to  continue,  and  handwork  appears  in  various  forms  in 
his  school,  sometimes  in  the  incessant  drawing  with  red  chalk 
on  slates,  which  he  permitted  during  any  kind  of  lesson,  and 
sometimes  in  the  gathering  of  clay  by  the  children  from  the 
banks  of  the  Buron  in  order  to  construct  a  model  of  the  river 
bed. 

Not  only  was  Pestalozzi  unconsciously  recognizing  the 
value  of  this  side  of  education,  but  he  was  among  the  first 
to  include  handwork  as  an  actual  part  of  the  work  of  the 
school,  and  not  simply  as  the  definite  preparation  of  a  par- 
ticular workman  for  a  particular  craft.  Thus  he  prepared 
the  way  for  the  growth  of  the  idea  that  handwork  is  in  itself 
a  method  of  education  ;  and  that  only  in  the  later  stages  of 
education  may  it  be  regarded  a  subject  of  instruction,  or 
as  an  end  in  itself,  or  as  definite  technical  training  for  a  definite 
trade. 

It  is  to  Froebel  largely  that  we  owe  this  view  :  he  shows, 
in  the  Education  of  Man  the  high  opinion  we  ought  to  have 
of  a  workman  and  his  work,  and  more  especially  of  creative, 


io6  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

self-initiated  work.  He  points  out  the  value  to  the  growth 
of  individuality,  of  this  creative  work,  and  estimates  it  as 
one  of  the  highest  points  to  which  man  can  attain.  He  says 
much  about  the  need  for  expression  in  material,  both  because 
it  is  valuable  in  building  up  ideas,  and  in  helping  men  to 
recognize  and  appreciate  beauty  ;  this  has  been  so  commonly 
accepted  as  to  become  almost  a  truism.  It  was  as  an  outcome 
of  his  ideas  that  he  planned  his  course  of  gifts  and  occupations, 
crudely  described  by  him  in  the  Education  of  Man,  and  often 
applied  with  an  interpretation  much  narrower  than  the  prin- 
ciples expressed  in  his  book  ;  and  it  was  he  who  made  manual 
work  an  important  part  of  the  work  at  Keilhau  among 
older  boys,  thus  instituting  probably  one  of  the  first  examples 
of  such  work  in  a  boys'  school. 

In  a  less  degree  Froebel  indicated  what  has  since  been 
more  fully  recognized  by  Professor  Dewey — the  effect  of 
social  industries  on  the  development  of  a  child,  and  their 
relation  to  the  rest  of  his  work.  In  sketching  out  the  work 
of  the  father,  and  to  a  less  extent  of  the  mother,  when  they 
allow  children  to  take  part  in  home  duties,  Froebel  shows 
that  he  appreciates  the  training  that  this  gives  ;  but  it  is 
to  Professor  Dewey  that  we  owe  the  fuller  working  out  of 
this  principle  on  experimental  lines,  in  his  University  School  at 
Chicago,  and  later  in  the  School  of  Columbia  University,  New 
York. 

It  seems  as  if  handwork  could  be  regardea  from  two 
points  of  view  which  are  by  no  means  mutually  exclusive  ; 
these  are  represented  in  adult  life  by  such  contrasting  types 
as  the  sculptor  and  the  potter,  the  painter  of  pictures  and 
the  house  painter,  the  art  needlewoman  and  the  dressmaker, 
the  designer  and  the  architect.  On  the  one  side  we  have 
work  done  for  the  sake  of  expressing  an  idea,  generally  an 
idea  of  beauty  in  some  form  ;  there  is  no  immediate  need 
or  desire  for  the  thing  done  except  the  need  to  express,  in 
order  that  the  worker  and  other  people  may  know  more 
fully  and  feel  more  deeply.  On  the  other  side  we  have  work 
done  to  supply  a  need,  to  satisfy  the  desire  to  construct  : 
beauty  may  enter  into  this  kind  of  work,  and  certainly  i+ 
is  an  expression  of  the  worker,  but  it  is  a  different  form  of 
expression,  undertaken  not  so  much  for  its  own  sake,  as  for 
the  desire  to  fulfil  a  utilitarian  aim. 

Now  the  handwork  of  the  school,  if  it  is  to  run  parallel  to 
the  life  outside  school,  should,  and  naturally  does,  fall  into 


INDUSTRIAL   HANDWORK  107 

two  such  distinct  lines  ;  though  only  the  liberal-minded  teacher 
can  see  at  what  points  they  may  run  together. 

Children  desire  to  paint,  to  draw,  to  model  in  clay,  to  cut 
paper  reproductions  of  things  which  they  think  beautiful 
and  interesting  ;  it  forms  a  large  and  important  part  of  their 
way  of  getting  to  know  about  these  things ;  often  in  the  act 
of  reproducing  their  appreciation  grows.  In  painting  the 
forget-me-not  a  little  girl  first  became  aware  of  its  heavenly 
blue,  and  a  strong  emotion  which  is  almost  intoxication  with 
colour,  sprang  up  and  never  left  her.  No  one  realizes  the  com- 
plexity of  the  shape  of  an  egg  until  he  tries  to  model  it,  or 
the  beauty  of  a  leaf  till  he  patiently  draws  it.  But  all  this 
is  more  fully  treated  in  the  chapter  on  Art  Work. 

It  is  the  other  aspect  of  handwork  that  this  section  seeks 
to  deal  with  more  fully ;  what  may,  for  want  of  a  wider  name, 
be  termed  industrial  or  constructive  occupation.  It  would 
be  a  pity  to  try  to  repeat  here  what  has  been  so  admirably 
written  by  Professor  Dewey,  both  in  his  School  and  Society, 
and  in  certain  chapters  in  the  collection  of  papers  from  his 
Elementary  School  Record,  notably  the  one  entitled  the  "  Psy- 
chology of  Occupations."  To  grasp  thoroughly  the  modem 
view  of  this  aspect  of  handwork,  these  should  be  studied  ; 
and  while  many  of  us  may  feel  the  impossibility  of  working 
actually  on  the  lines  of  the  Chicago  University  School,  and 
even  may  realize  that  some  important  sides  of  education 
receive  scant  attention,  yet  there  is  something  so  inspiring 
and  enlightening  in  this  way  of  regarding  active  work,  that 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Professor  Dew  ey  is,  in  a  sense, 
an  originator.  He  has  found  how  much  more  than  we  ever 
suspected,  motor  activity  with  a  purpose  is  one  of  the  most 
vital  factors  in  education  ;  he  has  raised  occupations  from 
the  place  of  a  rather  trivial  subject,  of  doubtful  value,  into 
a  method  which  we  dare  not  ignore ;  and  he  has  made  clear 
how,  by  means  of  this,  the  race  has  in  large  measure  reached 
its  present  state  of  progress.  For  the  sake  of  clearness  it 
might  be  well  to  consider,  in  summary,  what  he  has  said  : 
that  by  the  growth  of  machinery  we  have  lost  much  both 
individually  and  as  a  nation,  in  thought,  in  direct  kno\\'ledge, 
in  initiative,  in  responsibility,  and  in  power  to  do  ;  and  that 
in  order  to  compensate  for  this,  and  to  make  children  realize 
their  place  in  race  development  and  in  social  life,  we  should 
as  far  as  possible  put  a  child  into  the  position  of  a  responsible 
industrial  worker  ;    he  should  feel  the  need  for  his  work,  find 


io8  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

the  means  to  carry  it  on,  and  thus  experience,  in  some  degree 
at  least,  what  is  meant  by  being  a  serious  workman. 

His  definition  of  an  occupation  is  enlightening  : — "  By 
occupation  is  not  meant  any  kind  of  '  busy  work  '  or  exercises 
that  may  be  given  to  a  child  in  order  to  keep  him  out  of  mis- 
chief or  idleness  when  seated  at  his  desk.  By  occupation  I 
mean  a  mode  of  activity  on  the  part  of  the  child  which  repro- 
duces or  runs  parallel  to  some  form  of  work  carried  on  in 
social  life." 

"  We  must  conceive  of  work  in  vood  and  metal,  of  weaving, 
sewing  and  cooking,  as  methods  of  life,  not  as  distinct  studies." 

Here,  thion,  we  arrive  at  what  we  may  rcf<ard  as  our  present 
position  ;  we  ha-  e  a  long  inheritance  of  ideas  and  a  shorter 
one  of  experimental  practice,  and  each  of  us  should  use  the 
legacy  in  our  own  way.  It  might  be  useful  at  this  point  to 
indicate  some  of  the  ways,  in  the  hope  that  they  will  be  taken 
only  as  indications  and  suggestions,  and  not  as  anything  more 
permanent  and  stereotyped. 

Apart  from  the  drawing,  painting  and  modelhng  now 
almost  an  inherent  part  of  every  Infant  School  and  Kinder- 
garten, we  have,  in  a  more  limited  number,  occupations  such 
as  the  making  of  objects  in  paper,  cardboard  or  wood,  the 
beginnings  of  neerilework,  and  the  weaving  of  mats  and 
baskets.  Now  this  is  the  nearest  approach  to  what  has  been 
described  as  industrial  handwork,  and  as  far  as  choice  of 
material  ^'fjcs  it  seems  sensible,  though  perhaps  rather  hmited. 
But  the  main  test  lies  in  the  way  in  which  the  teacher  and, 
consequently,  the  children  regard  such  work,  and  the  place  it 
holds  in  relation  to  the  rest  of  the  work  in  the  school.  One 
is  safe  in  assuming'  that,  as  a  rule,  it  is  simply  regarded  as 
a  subject,  and  has  a  place  on  the  time  table  as  such,  that  by 
the  rloin'<  of  it  children  are  supposed  to  become  neater,  more 
capable  with  their  hands,  more  accurate,  and  also  as  a  by- 
pro^luct  haf)pier,  since  Ih^v  like  doing  this  work.  If  the 
teacher  is  painfully  honest  with  herself,  there  is  also  another 
motive,  always  kept  safely  in  the  subconscious  region  : 
"  that  such  handwork  is  in  vogue,  most  up  to  date  schools 
are  taking  it  up."  If  she  is  very  human  she  will  also  desire 
to  see  good,  tangible  results. 

Now,  granting  that  all  this  is  justifiable  and  even  right,  is 
there  no  deeper  reason  and  no  stronger  motive  for  introducing 
this  kinr]  of  work  ?  J'irst  of  all,  how  is  it  usually  conducted  ? 
The  following  is  a  fair  example  of  many  hundred  lessons. 


INDUSTRIAL    HANDWORK  lOO 

The  teacher  has  put  paper  modeUing  on  the  time  table  for 
Monday  afternoon  from  3.20-3.50.  therefore  whatever  mav 
be  the  main  interest  in  the  children's  minds,  paper  n.odelling 
must  be  done.  Last  Monday  they  modelled  a  barn,  lo-day 
she  decides  they  shall  model  a  cupboard,  which  is  a  Uttle  more 
dinicult.  Materials  and  tools  are  given  out.  and,  as  a  rule,  the 
procedure  resembles  the  following  : — 

"To-day  we  are  to  make  a  cupboard.  \Miat  does  your 
mother  do  ^^^th  a  cupboard  ?  "  '•  Put  things  in  it,"  is'  the 
universal  reply.  Such  is  a  sample  of  the  introductory- inspira- 
tion. In  better  cases,  a  finished  model  is  sho\Mi.  In  worse 
cases,  where  the  teacher  is  either  dour  or  imimaginative,  no 
information  is  vouchsafed  of  the  nature  of  the  object  to  be 
modelled.  In  either  case  the  next  stage  consists  of  a  series  of 
directions  or  advices  which  have  to  be  translated  into  law. 
Such  are  :  "  Crease  the  paper  from  top  to  bottom,"  "  Crease 
it  now  from  side  to  side,"  "  Fold  the  right  hand  di^^sion  in 
halves,"  "  Fold  the  left  hand  di\'ision  in  halves,"  "  Fold  the 
top  diWsion  in  halves,"  "  Fold  the  bottom  division  in  halves." 
"  Now  how  many  squares  have  you  ?  "  "  Now  I  shall  draw 
a  big  square  with  sixteen  squares  on  my  blackboard,  and 
show  you  where  to  put  the  cuts.  The  white  chalk  lines  are 
cuts,  and  the  dotted  ones  are  folds.  Now  be  sure  you  look 
carefully  where  the  cuts  are.  and  Jon't  viake  a  viishikc." 

We  will  here  presume  all  have  arrived  at  tliis  stage  success- 
fully ;  indeed,  unless  they  were  idiots,  or  very  unregenerate, 
they  could  not  do  otherwise,  and  they  have  probably  arrived 
at  a  simultaneous  stage  of  hardly  restrained  desire  to  go 
on  quicker.  The  teacher  continues  :  "  Now  fold  upwards 
the  two  middle  bottom  squares,  now  the  two  middle  top  ones, 
now  the  left  side,  now  the  right  side.  Now  you  have  a  cup- 
board." 

Mysteriously,  out  of  chaos  and  a  confused  medley  of  com- 
mands, a  cupboard  has  suddenly  appeared.  Cupboards  do 
not  appear  in  that  way  in  real  hfe,  nor  did  the  very  first 
cupboard  evolve  itself  out  of  a  tree  by  a  number  of  vague 
choppings ;  but  we  have  sixty  good  results,  carefully  made 
cupboards.  What  have  the  inward  results  been  ?  C^bedience, 
imitative  activity,  and  some  slight  hand  training.  This  is 
not  in  any  way  parallel  to  Hfe's  industrial  training. 

It  might  be  useful  to  consider  an  example  of  another  in- 
du>try.  A  class  of  Httle  girls  is  being  taught  to  sew  :  thoy 
axe  supplied  with  rags  of  cahco  about  2  by  6  inches,  red  cotton 


no  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

and  needle  and  thimble.  Careful  and  minute  directions  are 
given  about  the  holding  of  the  needle,  manner  of  threading, 
manner  of  using  thimble.  The  rag  is  already  tacked  for 
hemming,  though  there  is  no  apparent  reason  why  it  should 
be  hemmed,  or  why  the  children  should  begin  with  so  difficult 
a  stitch.  The  needle  is  placed  at  a  certain  angle,  and  the 
ceremony  is  begun.  Neither  interest,  enthusiasm  nor  intelli- 
gence accompany  the  performance  of  this  industry  ;  when  a 
strip  has  been  hemmed  the  hem  is  frequently  torn  off,  and 
the  whole  performance  gone  through  again,  until  the  art  of 
hemming  is  nearer  perfection.  Wonderful  results  in  the 
sphere  of  hemming  arise  out  of  this  barren  activity,  but  what 
has  happened  to  the  children  ?  Obedient  boredom,  and  a 
certain  muscular  control  which  it  is  pretty  certain  they  were 
not  ready  for  ;  the  quenching  of  any  interest  or  intelligence 
that  may  have  arisen  in  connexion  with  sewing.  What 
happens  later  ?  Are  the  present  generation  of  poor  mothers, 
who  have  had  years  of  this  kind  of  thing,  famous  for  th  ir 
making  or  mending  of  garments  ?  Do  children  leave  school 
passionately  attached  to  the  needlework  industry  ?  Do 
teachers  of  young  children  long  for  the  needlework  hour  ? 

That  these  types  of  lessons  are  not  educative  any  one  can 
see.  and  yet  how  may  they  be  bettered  ?  We  cannot  allow 
children  to  have  unfettered  freedom  and  unlimited  material ; 
children  need  help  as  we  all  do,  and  that  help  is  greatly  appreci- 
ated if  it  comes  just  at  the  time  it  is  needed.  Doubtless  most 
of  us  remember  the  experience  of  irritability  and  impatience 
when  somebody  insisted  on  showing  us  how  to  do  a  thing 
that  we  could  do  for  ourselves,  or,  at  least,  thought  we  could 
do.  If  this  feeling  ceased,  and  we  were  content  to  be  shown, 
the  interpretation  must  be  that  we  had  ceased  to  desire  to 
do  independent  work,  and  the  next  stage  was  that  we  could 
not  do  it.  And  all  the  reason  behind  in  the  teacher's  mind 
was  that  children  must  not  be  allowed  to  make  mistakes  or 
to  waste  time  anrl  material  ;  they  must  form  the  habit  of 
dning  the  thing  right  from  the  beginning.  No  account  was 
token  of  the  habits  of  dependence,  indolence  and  blind  obedi- 
eace,  that  were  all  being  formed  rapidly  and  successfully. 

What  really  happens  when  a  child  sets  out  to  work  on  his 
own  im'Mative  ?  First  of  all  he  wants  to  make  a  particular 
thing  in  connexion  with  a  particular  interest  of  his  own  ; 
or  he  may  wish  to  make  something  for  somebody  else. 
First,  then,  there  is  a  particular   need,  then  an  attempt  to 


INDUSTRIAL  HANDWORK  iii 

consider  how  this  can  be  accomplished,  with  the  tools  and 
material  to  his  hand.  If  a  boy  wishes  to  make  a  small  cart 
he  hrst  of  all  sees  a  glorified  cart  of  imagination  :  he  may 
find  a  box  to  form  the  body  of  the  cart ;  bits  of  tins,  or  empty 
reels  of  cotton,  or  old  button  moulds  for  wheels  ;  skewers 
for  shafts  ;  these  are  either  nailed  or  glued  together  ;  but 
meantime  he  has  paid  particular  attention  to  carts  on  the 
road,  and  possibly  his  first  attempts  at  nailing  have  split  the 
wood.  Thus  imagination,  observation,  responsibility  and 
all  that  accompanies  experiment,  have  been  exercised  and 
developed,  and  the  finished  usable  article  gives  a  sense  of 
power  and  capacity  that  means  he  will  begin  at  a  higher  kvel 
next  time.     "  The  will  grows  with  courage  of  the  deed." 

A  httle  girl  desires  to  make  a  pinafore  for  her  doll  :  like 
the  boy  she  sees  a  vision,  but  hers  is  of  a  pinafore  complete 
and  beautiful,  and  then  she  sets  out  her  plan  ;  she  must  have 
material,  and  this  is  generally  obtainable.  She  must  observe 
her  own  and  the  baby's  pinafores.  Then  she  must  try  the 
material  against  the  doll ;  perhaps  hasty  enthusiasm  leads 
her  to  cut  out  rashly,  and  fitting  shows  that  it  is  too  skimpy  ; 
she  forgot  the  doll  must  be  able  to  move  freely  and  walk  in' 
it ;  the  material  is  spoilt,  and  the  child's  sorrow  is  bitter. 
Fortune  smiles  and  new  material  appears  on  the  scene,  not 
so  good,  peihaps,  as  before,  but  just  possible.  She  is  dulj' 
impressed  by  her  sad  mistake,  it  is  interwoven  with  the  subject 
of  pinafores  for  ever,  and  the  second  attempt  is  a  great  im- 
provement ;  she  knows  nothing  about  hemming  or  running, 
but  she  just  sew  s,  some  of  it  holds  and  some  does  not ;  she 
pricks  her  finger  frequently  ;  after  the  first  washing  of  the 
pinafore  much  of  it  had  to  be  re-stitched,  and  the  raw  edges 
remain  an  unsolved  difficulty. 

Now  these  are  cases  of  the  kind  of  industrial  work  a  child 
would  usually  do  at  home,  and  they  are,  so  to  speak,  a 
reflection  of  the  way  the  race  learnt  its  industries.  It  is 
needless  to  analyse  them  further ;  any  one  can  see  that  they 
involve  complicated  experiences,  both  physical  and  mental 
in  character,  to  say  nothing  of  the  moral  discipline  they  en- 
gender. Both  children  realize  a  need,  both  feel  the  constructive 
craving,  both  try  to  satisfy  it,  and  both  are  probably  in  a 
state  of  mind  to  be  ready  to  learn  a  little  but  not  too  much, 
just  enough  to  help  on  to  the  next  stage. 

This,  then,  should  be  our  guide  for  industrial  work  in  school. 
The  application  is  fairly  evident,  especially  in  the  light  of 


112  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

one  of  Froebel's  foremost  principles :  "  Education  in  in- 
struction and  training,  originally  and  in  its  first  principles, 
should  be  passive,  following  (only  guarding  and  protecting), 
not  prescriptive,  categorical,  interfering." 

Viewed  in  this  light,  how  then  should  the  industrial  work 
be  conducted  ?  First  of  all  it  should  arise  out  of  the  children's 
everyday  needs  and  interests.  If  the  whole  class  were  en- 
gaged in  making  a  co-operative  doll's  house  or  a  village, 
then  a  cupboard  would  be  a  natural  and  necessary  thing,  and 
would  probably  be  suggested  by  the  children  themselves. 
But  simply  following  a  barn,  in  order  of  complexity,  it  has 
little  relation  to  anything  but  the  logical  sequence,  and  we 
have  already  shown  the  fatal  results  to  education  of  a  bhnd 
acceptance  of  this  order.  Probably  a  pencil  box  or  case  for 
stamps  or  box  for  private  string,  or  in  the  case  of  a  girl  a 
wardrobe  for  doll's  clothes,  or  a  doll's  trunk,  would  be  a 
natural  thing  to  make.  Then,  following  the  natural  method 
the  children  might,  even  at  the  expense  of  a  little  extra  brown 
paper,  make  the  first  experiments  themselves  ;  they  would 
soon  discover  the  need  for  measurement  and  various  kinds  of 
elementary  mathematical  calculations  ;  indeed,  this  industry 
might  well  be  a  direct  application  of  number  work,  and  could 
often  justifiably  be  taken  in  the  time  set  down  for  that  subject. 
Having  made  the  necessary  calculations,  which  presumably 
are  not  all  alike,  the  class  could  then  proceed  to  try  various 
plans  for  making  the  desired  object  ;  they  will  utihze  former 
experiences,  and  they  will  work  towards  an  ideal  which  they 
alone  can  visualize  ;  there  might  be  a  finished  model  of  the 
teacher's  which  to  the  unimaginative  or  inexperienced  would 
serve  as  an  end  to  be  worked  for,  but  it  should  never  be  set 
before  them  as  the  only  possible  cupboard  or  box,  the  pattern 
of  which  is  laid  up  in  the  British  Museum.  Indeed,  the 
main  aim  should  be  originality,  and  only  where  a  child  is  not 
yet  ready  for  this,  should  a  model  be  provided. 

Now  the  results  as  cupboards  or  boxes  will  be  various  ; 
all  idea  of  a  uniform  class  standard  must  be  banished  as  com- 
pletely as  it  has  had  to  be  done  by  workhouse  authorities  in 
the  matter  of  children's  clothes.  The  class  consists  of  a 
number  of  individuals,  not  a  number  of  types. 

The  be-^t  work  should  of  course  be  left  as  its  maker 
has  finiidied  it  unless  ol)vioiis  help  is  needed,  and  he  might  be 
allowed  to  continue  alone  ;  but  probably  the  bulk  of  the 
class  will  have  found  various  difliciilties,  and  will  be  just 


INDUSTRIAL  HANDWORK  113 

ready  and  willing  to  be  helped ;  the  right  moment  has  come 
when  they  can  both  appreciate  and  as:^imilate.  As  time 
goes  on,  this  help  should  become  less  and  less,  especially  as  a 
general  practice.  Again,  after  the  children  get  accustomed 
to  the  material  and  reahze  their  power  over  it,  they  should 
be  allowed  to  make  various  objects,  according  to  their  varying 
interests.  From  the  first  the  main  thing  to  keep  in  mind  is 
that  they  have  a  great  deal  more  power  than  we  imagine, 
that  from  the  first  we  must  allow  them  to  feel  the  responsi- 
biUty  of  the  situation,  and  that  experiment  rather  than 
passive  obedience  should  be  the  general  aim  set  before  the 
children.  If  there  is  a  waste  of  material  in  this  way,  it  is 
soothing  to  reflect  that  it  is  better  than  a  waste  of  brains 
and  energy,  which  the  other  way  undoubtedly  promoted. 

Perhaps  the  other  case  of  the  needlework  lesson  suggests 
a  greater  problem  ;  but  it  is  inconceivable  to  think  that,  as 
industrial  handwork,  needlew^ork  should  be  treated  in  a  less 
educative  manner  than  any  other  social  industry.  It  began 
as  experimental,  and  in  the  hands  of  the  best  workers  it  is 
stiU  a  matter  for  experiment  and  intelhgence,  rather  than 
for  passive  executive  uniformity.  If  we  wish  to  encourage 
people  who  will  submit  to  being  sweated  workers,  or  rule  of 
thumb  performers,  then  it  is  better  to  cease  to  pursue  the 
educative  side  and  continue  the  policy  still  almost  universal, 
and  almost  universally  encouraged  by  those  in  authority. 

We  might,  however,  sketch  what  can  be  done  if  the  subject 
is  regarded  as  to  its  high  rather  than  its  low  possibilities. 

The  girls  of  a  class  aged  at  least  seven  are  generally  in- 
terested in  this  side  of  home  fife,  and  wish  to  make  something 
for  their  dolls,  or  the  home  babies.  They  might  be  allowed 
to  choose,  either  individually  or  as  a  class,  what  they  would 
make.  Perhaps  at  first,  if  the  class  is  a  large  one,  a  teacher 
might  be  compelled  to  make  the  choice  uniform,  but  this 
should  be  recognized  as  a  compromise  with  conditions,  and 
not  what  is  really  desirable.  We  will  suppose  they  have 
chosen  a  doU's  cloak.  There  might  be  some  possible  choice 
of  material,  and  any  child  might  be  free  to  bring  a  piece 
from  home.  All  would  bring  their  doUs  (in  the  case  of  very 
poor  children  the  dolls  from  the  baby  room  might  be  borrowed), 
and  the  class  would  proceed  to  consider  ways  and  means. 
They  might  be  supplied  with  sheets  of  newspaper,  and  be 
allowed  to  cut  a  paper  pattern  of  their  own.  If,  in  the  number 
lesson  at  any  time  measures  had  been  m?de,  they  should  now 

I 


114  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

be  used  ;  or  the  very  need  for  one  might  afford  an  oppor- 
tunity for  making  a  cardboard  measure  if  not  a  tape  measure 
during  a  contemporary  number  lesson. 

When  each  member  of  the  class  is  fairly  well  satisfied  that 
her  paper  pattern  will  do,  and  the  teacher  has  seen  that  they 
are  fairly  reasonable,  the  material  should  be  given  and  the 
children  allowed  to  proceed  without  a  break.  When  the 
cutting  out  is  completed  they  should  simply  go  on  to  the 
making,  and  then  will  arise  various  difficulties  in  a  natural 
way.  Some  will  look  at  their  own  garments,  some  will  reflect 
on  their  mother's  methods,  some  will  use  their  own  judgment. 
Probably  the  raw  edge  of  the  material  will  be  either  left  or 
turned  down  once,  and  a  running  stitch  used.  The  seams, 
if  there  are  any,  will  be  simply  run.  Many  of  the  cloaks  will 
doubtless  fail  to  meet  when  put  on  to  the  doll,  and  some 
may  be  too  large.  As  far  as  possible  the  children  should  be 
encouraged  to  solve  these  difficulties,  and  if  the  garment 
turns  out  to  be  rather  a  failure,  it  will  in  reahty  be  a  "  high 
failure,"  because  it  is  the  product  of  the  best  thought  and 
activity  of  which  the  child  is  capable.  The  next  will  be 
better,  and  gradually  the  right  time  to  learn  a  stitch  or  a 
method  will  come.  It  will  be  done  on  a  real  thing,  not  a 
useless  rag,  it  will  fulfil  a  real  need,  the  reason  for  it  will  be 
apparent  from  the  beginning,  and  as  in  the  case  of  paper 
modelling  the  help  given  will  be  appreciated  and  used.  But 
the  help  should  always  follow  the  need,  never  precede  it,  and 
so  it  may  constantly  appear  as  if  the  children  are  bunghng 
and  wasting  material ;  but  the  bungling  is  really  experiment 
and  invention  of  a  high  order,  and  the  waste  of  material  means 
economy  of  mental  power. 

We  must  trust  children  more.  Probably  the  greatest 
value  of  this  kind  of  lesson  is  the  training  of  character. 

What  other  place,  then,  can  industrial  handwork  take  in 
the  school  ?  Besides  being  a  method  of  experience,  it  has 
already  been  incidentally  connected  with  number,  and  much 
more  can  be  done  in  this  direction,  as  the  number  section 
will  indicate.  Other  subjects  are  greatly  improved  by  this 
method  of  learning,  e.g.,  early  history,  early  geography,  and 
possibly  the  beginnings  of  natural  science.  By  gathering 
the  only  materials  possible  to  man  in  early  times,  and  by  trying 
to  form  them  into  such  tools  and  weapons  as  he  needed,  chil- 
dren get  a  far  more  real  grip  of  his  conditions  ;  they  are  pro- 
jected into  the  time  ;  similarly  with  geography,  for  by  trying 


INDUSTRIAL   HANDWORK  115 

to  make  of  wood,  grass  and  clay  the  liut  of  the  child  of  tropical 
regions,  they  realize  far  more  clearly  his  life  in  the  attempt 
to  imitate  some  of  his  industries.  The  same  course  of  investi- 
gation, observation,  experiment,  is  followed  before  they 
accomplish  these  things,  and  when  thought  and  action  directly 
bear  on  each  other  both  are  undoubtedly  strengthened  and 
enriched.  Dewey  has  made  this  idea  more  permanent  in 
the  words  :  "  The  concrete  logic  of  action  long  precedes  the 
logic  of  pure  speculation  or  abstract  investigation,  and  through 
the  mental  habits  that  it  forms  is  the  best  of  preparations  for 
the  latter." 

Industrial  handwork  is  therefore  more  of  a  method  than  a 
subject  in  the  Infant  School  or  Kindergarten.  When  used 
as  an  aid  to  the  better  understanding  of  any  subject  matter 
it  is  quite  clearly  so,  and  when  used  apparently  without  such 
connexion,  as  in  weaving,  paper  modelling,  needlework  and 
gardening  periods,  it  is  still  a  method,  because  the  aim  at  this 
stage  is  not  to  make  weavers,  carpenters,  needlewomen  and 
gardeners,  but  people  whose  physical  skill  has  been  developed 
side  by  side  with  their  capacity  for  intelligent  investigation. 

The  moral  significance  of  industrial  handwork  is  perhaps 
nowhere  better  discussed  than  in  a  paper  by  Miss  Alice  Woods. 
Principal  of  the  Maria  Grey  Training  College,  which  appeared 
in  Child  Life  of  April  igo2.  There  one  realizes  how  much 
steadiness  of  aim,  concentration,  strength  of  will  and  service- 
ableness  are  developed  from  motor  activity  of  this  kind  ; 
above  all  is  cultivated  what  is  so  often  lacking  in  the  elemen- 
tary school  child — the  sense  of  responsibihty  and  power  to 
work  independently.  But  all  this  will  be  negatived  and  even 
destroyed  if  a  teacher  continues  to  be  categorical  and  inter- 
fering, continues  to  value  mere  executive  skill  above  intelligent 
imitation  or  experiment,  fears  childish  mistakes  instead  of 
valuing  them,  and  continues  to  mistake  the  form  for  the  spirit. 

Interference  is  undoubtedly,  in  the  case  of  really  intelligent 
teachers,  a  form  of  selfishness,  and  in  the  case  of  less  intelH- 
gent,  a  form  of  laziness  or  ignorance.  With  many  average 
teachers  the  cause  lies  in  lack  of  thought. 

Perhaps  a  few  practical  suggestions  might  come  at  this 
point : — 

First  with  regard  to  material :  it  is  not  always  easy  to  get 
sufficient  from  headquarters  for  the  rather  lavish  use  suggested 
here  ;  enthusiasm  and  imagination  will  find  other  sources. 
WaU  paper  pattern  books  of  any  but  the   current  year  are 


ii6  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

almost  costless.  A  self-coloured  wall-paper  is  often  cheap. 
Brown  paper  can  be  procured  from  many  sources  ;  people 
will  willingly  give  away  cardboard  boxes  if  the  children  are 
old  enough  to  use  cardboard.  It  is  much  better  for  the  chil- 
dren to  realize  in  this  way  that  odds  and  ends  can  be  used 
than  to  connect  their  work  always  with  regulation  material. 

If  the  children  are  not  of  a  very  poor  class,  they  should 
be  encouraged  to  bring  their  own  material  for  specific  purposes, 
as  well  as  for  general  use. 

It  is  a  good  plan,  and  one  which  is  becoming  more  universal, 
to  have  a  class  box  as  a  receptacle  for  odds  and  ends  ;  a  kind 
of  universal  rag  bag.  Children  can  bring  things,  provided 
they  are  moderately  clean,  that  are  generally  considered  mere 
rubbish,  such  as  Sunhght  Soap  boxes.  Lux  cases,  empty  match 
boxes,  and  burnt  matches,  the  cylinders  of  incandescent  gas 
mantles,  odd  pieces  of  wire,  string,  stamp  paper,  button 
moulds,  empty  reels  of  cotton,  corks,  and  many  other  things 
too  numerous  to  mention.  From  these  they  may  be  encour- 
aged to  make  their  own  toys,  or  utensils,  or  to  make  things 
for  other  people.  This  is  done  with  great  zeal  at  Devons 
Road  School,  Bow,  where  the  idea  probably  originated  in 
this  form. 

Wholesale  cloth  warehou  es  ought  to  be  bombarded  by 
teachers  for  their  old  pattern  books ;  the  patterns  are  cut 
on  a  much  larger  scale  than  those  supplied  by  retail  shops, 
and  would  give  an  inexhaustible  store  for  needlework  material, 
and  allow  for  considerable  exercise  in  judgment.  If  this  source 
of  supply  is  not  possible,  unbleached  cahco,  soft  and  loosely 
woven  cloth,  flannelette,  casement  cloth,  nurses'  cloth,  are 
among  the  most  suitable  for  young  children.  Anything  that 
has  much  dressing,  like  book  muslin,  should  be  avoided,  or 
anything  that  would  dazzle  a  child's  eyes ;  but  on  the  latter 
point  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  faddism  prevalent  lately. 

For  weaving,  up  to  the  present  the  best  and  cheapest 
medium  seems  to  be  bast  or  raffia.  It  can  be  dyed  by  the 
teacher  or  children  with  Dolly  dyes,  or  even  some  natural  dyes, 
e.g.,  onions,  tea,  beetroot,  etc.  It  adds  greatly  to  the  interest 
in  the  article  if  colour  is  introduced.  Children  should,  of 
course,  approach  actual  weaving  in  the  same  experimental 
spirit  as  other  industries,  and  they  should  realize  by  inquiry 
and  observation  the  primitive  methods  of  weaving.  Later, 
when  they  have  done  all  they  can  for  themselves,  they  will 
be  content  to  learn  definite  stitches,  but  much  can  be  left  to 


INDUSTRIAL  HANDWORK  117 

them,  such  as  the  shape  and  use  of  the  article,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  colour  and  pattern.  Wool,  if  it  can  be  got  cheaply, 
can  be  used  for  weaving  at  a  later  stage,  and  some  beautiful 
effects  can  be  got  by  joining  all  the  pieces  woven  by  a  class 
into  a  large  blanket.  In  the  hght  of  this  form  of  industry 
it  is  surely  unnecessary  to  criticise  paper  mats. 

With  regard  to  pottery  the  children  should  realize  something 
of  its  origin,  either  by  a  visit  to  pottery  works,  or  by  means 
of  a  model  potter's  wheel.  Such  a  story  as  "  How  the 
Indians  learnt  to  make  Clay  Dishes  "  {Nature  Myths,  by  Flora 
Cooke),  would  interest  them  in  this  connexion.  In  America, 
the  home  of  educational  experiment,  the  children  can  have 
their  school  work  fired,  and  afterwards  thej^  are  able  to  enamel 
it  themselves.  This  solves  the  great  problem  of  all  kinds  of 
clay  modelling,  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  work.  It  would 
be  very  desirable  if  each  distinct  or  group  of  schools  had  a 
furnace  or  access  to  one,  so  that  this  industry  might  be  com- 
pleted. Perhaps  by  saving  on  material,  this  might  seem 
possible  to  authorities.  It  is  strongly  advised  that  clay 
and  not  plasticine  should  be  used  in  schools.  Various  kinds 
of  clay  besides  that  in  common  use  can  be  got,  e.g.,  red  clay 
mixed  with  a  httle  sand  from  Surrey,  and  a  rather  dark  grey 
variety  from  Cheltenham.  There  should  be  httle  or  no 
formality  of  procedure  in  this  lesson  ;  necessity  wiU  soon  tell 
a  child  how  to  use  his  hands.  The  use  of  clay  as  a  more 
artistic  medium  is  described  in  the  section  on  Art. 

Gardening  is  more  possible  than  at  first  appears.  In  a 
London  school  situated  in  the  heart  of  a  crowded  and  congested 
neighbourhood  an  experiment  of  a  very  simple  character  was 
made.  The  usual  concrete  playground  was  looked  at  by 
one  of  the  assistant  mistresses  with  the  eye  of  imagination, 
and  she  was  able  to  open  the  eyes  of  her  class  to  possibihties. 
For  weeks  every  child  who  possessed  the  merest  semblance 
of  a  back  yard  brought  daily  his  offering  of  a  httle  mould  in 
a  paper  bag  ;  a  substratum  of  slack  or  some  form  of  clean 
rubbish  had  been  laid  on  the  concrete  in  a  corner  of  the  play- 
ground. On  this  was  daily  deposited  the  bagfuls  of  earth.  In 
a  wonderfully  short  time  it  became  a  kind  of  raised  garden, 
and  gradually  extended  its  borders  along  the  wall. 

Now,  after  about  a  year's  time,  it  is  a  very  satisfactory  garden 
strip,  full  of  plants  brought  by  the  children.  It  is  so  essentially 
theirs  that  no  one  could  venture  to  suggest  the  fea  of  neglect  ; 
it  forms  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  of  their  forms  of  indus- 


Ii8  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

trial  handwork  ;  their  own  penny  spades  and  pails  can  be 
handed  round  ;  rakes  can  be  made  by  elder  brothers  with 
A'ood  and  nails.  Fortunately  no  one  has  formulated  methods 
of  gardening  yet ;  there  is  no  rake-drill,  or  digging  spade  by 
spade  after  the  teacher,  so  the  activity  can  be  a  perfectly 
natural  one. 

The  suggestion  has  been  made  to  one  local  authority  and 
has  been  received,  we  believe,  favourably,  that  it  would  be 
advisable  to  grant  to  each  head  teacher  if  she  wishes  it,  a 
small  sum  of  money  to  be  laid  out  in  hand\\ork  material, 
instead  of  doling  out  all  her  allowance  in  kind.  This  would 
mercifully  deliver  us  and  the  children  from  the  monotonous 
round  of  objects  so  similar  and  so  unimaginative  in  every  school, 
it  would  make  experiment  possible,  and  it  would  make  the 
burden  of  obeying  their  consciences  at  the  expense  of  their 
pockets  less  heavy  to  many  teachers  who  spend  very  consider- 
able sums,  which  they  can  ill  afford,  throughout  the  3'ear. 

To  foster  the  real  spirit  of  social  work  it  is  good  to  introduce 
side  by  side  with  individual  work  some  form  of  co-operative 
work  ;  this  may  centre  round  the  garden,  of  course,  and 
garden  tools  might  be  made  ;  or  a  doll's  house  or  stable  for 
the  babies  forms  an  interesting  motive. 

Individual  members  of  a  class  can  make  the  pieces  of  a  rug 
which  can  be  afterwards  joined.  Groups  of  children  may 
make  smaller  things,  such  as  a  pair  of  knitted  reins,  or  they 
may  dress  a  doU. 

If  a  fairly  large  object  is  planned  it  is  better  to  give  it  to  a 
group  than  to  put  too  great  a  strain  on  the  concentration 
powers  of  one  child.  As  in  other  directions  the  educative 
value  of  group  work  depends  on  the  amount  of  organization 
and  responsibility  given  to  the  group  ;  there  should  be  a 
leader  or  foreman,  and  much  social  training  will  be  given  by 
the  obedience  and  co-operative  spirit. 

Thus  we  hope  to  train  the  worker  who  is  also  an  educated 
and  responsible  social  being,  intelhgent  enough  to  direct  or 
to  be  dii<  ct(  d,  to  initiate  or  to  copy,  but  never  to  lose  his 
individuahty.  We  do  not  want  another  race  of  men  and 
women  workers  like  those  we  can  see  in  the  evening  trams 
of  the  cities,  or  the  muddy  roads  of  the  villages,  whose  work 
has  conquered  their  spirit,  and  whose  sole  aim  is  to  keep 
alive  the  weary  body.  Their  work  is  not  of  themselves,  and 
they  have  nothing  to  put  into  their  leisure.  Neither  do 
we  seek  to  develop  the  opposite  type,  those  whose  work  so 


INDUSTRIAL  HANDWORK  119 

dominates  them  that  the  indi\'idual  is  lost ;    it  was  said  of 
one  such  :   "  He  was  born  a  man  and  died  a  grocer." 

Rather  than  this,  we  are  seeking  to  raise  up  a  race  who 
will  feel  the  need  to  work,  not  the  need  for  material  self- 
support,  but  the  natural  craving  for  growth,  which  can  only 
be  thus  satisfied.  And  work  that  is  an  outcome  of  this  will 
enrich  the  individual  in  the  worker,  and,  through  him,  the 
community  in  which  he  lives. 

Henrietta  Brown  Smith. 

BOOKS   FOR   REFERENCE 

The  School  and  Society.     Dewey.     (University  of  Chicago  Press.) 
The  School  and  the  Child.     Chapter  on  the  "  Psychology  of  Occupa- 
tions."    Dewey.     (Blackie,   is.) 
The  Place  of  Elementary  Industries.     Dopp.     (University  of  Chicago 

Press,  55.) 
New  Methods  in  Education.     Liberty  Tadd.     (KeganPaul.) 
Indian  Basketry.     G.  W.  James.     (Henry  Malkan,  New  York,  8<.  6d. 

net.) 
Principles  oj  Design.     Rhead.     (Batsford.) 


MUSIC 

Happily  in  these  days  it  is  not  necessary  to  justify  the 
inclusion  of  singing  as  a  subject  of  instruction  for  young 
children  ;  even  the  most  unmu^ical  teacher  will  admit  that 
a  school  in  which  music  did  not  assume  a  prominent  position 
would  be  a  very  cheerless  and  uncongenial  place  both  for 
teachers  and  scholars. 

In  the  following  pages  a  large  proportion  of  the  space  avail- 
able is  devoted  to  the  technical  aspects  of  singing,  because 
the  teacher  who  wishes  her  class  to  make  any  real  progress 
must  be  conversant  with  the  general  principles  of  the  subject. 
Singing  comes  quite  naturally  to  children,  and  the  main 
business  of  the  teacher  is  to  see  that  this  natural  ability 
does  not  develop  on  the  wrong  lines. 

Nevertheless,  it  must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind  that 
the  recreative  aspect  of  singing  is  more  important  than  the 
technical  side,  although  exercises,  if  carefully  chosen  and 
intelligently  performed,  need  not  be  at  all  uninteresting.  The 
course  of  instruction  in  singing  involves  : — 

(i)  Voice-production. 

(2)  Rhythmic  training. 

(3)  A  small  amount  of  preUminary  instniction  in  reading 
written  music. 

(4)  Ear  training. 

(5)  Musical  invention. 

(6)  The  acquisition  of  a  large  number  of  simple  songs, 
and  this  is  the  most  important  section  of  all. 

Voice  Production. 

The  organs  involved  in  tone-production  are — 

(i)  The  breathing  apparatus  ;    i.e.,  the  lungs. 

(2)  The  tone-producing  apparatus  ;    i.e.,  the  larynx. 


MUSIC  121 

(3)  The  resonance  apparatus  ;    i.e.,  the  mouth  and  nasal 

cavities. 

The  voice,  being  a  wind  instrument,  requires  a  column  of 
air  as  its  motive  force,  and  may  be  roughly  compared  with  a 
harmonium.  In  this  instrimient  the  bellows  are  expanded 
by  the  pressure  of  the  feet  of  the  player  ;  air  rushes  in,  and  is 
stored  in  a  reservoir  at  conisderable  pressure.  On  the  depres- 
sion of  a  key,  a  connexion  is  made  between  the  reservoir 
and  a  thin  tongue  of  brass  called  a  reed ;  and  a  stream  of  air 
rushes  past  the  edges  of  the  reed  and  sets  them  into  vibration. 
Thus  a  musical  sound  is  produced. 

In  the  human  voice  the  place  of  the  bellows  and  reservoir 
is  taken  by  the  cavity  of  the  chest  and  the  lungs,  while  instead 
of  the  pressure  of  the  feet  we  have  the  tension  of  the  muscles 
which  govern  the  movement  of  the  ribs  and  diaphragm,  and 
in  place  of  the  brass  reed  there  is  the  pair  of  vocal  cords 
contained  in  the  larynx.  Now,  every  one  who  has  played 
a  harmonium  with  the  "  expression  stop  "  drawn,  i.e.,  with 
the  safety  valve  on  the  reservoir  closed,  knows  how  difficult 
it  is  to  play  the  instrument  effectively,  and  this  difficulty 
arises  from  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  air  supply  at  a  suitable 
pressure.  If  the  pressure  of  the  feet  is  too  great,  the  tone 
is  loud  and  coarse.  If  too  small,  the  tone  comes  in  gasps 
and  is  feeble  and  flat.  So  that  to  play  such  an  instrument 
demands  a  course  of  practice  in  "  breathing  with  the  feet  "  ; 
for  exactly  the  same  reason  voice  production  of  the  right  type 
demands  a  course  of  breathing  exercises. 

On  account  of  the  uninteresting  nature  of  such  exercises 
there  is  a  great  temptation  to  ignore  them  with  the  younger 
children.  But  good  singing  cannot  be  secured  without  them  ; 
all  authorities  are  agreed  on  this  point.  The  truth  is  that  the 
kind  of  breathing  required  for  singing  purposes  is  quite  dif- 
ferent from  that  usually  employed.  In  the  former  case 
inspiration  has  to  be  deeper  and  expiration  much  slower, 
the  air  being  also  emitted  at  a  higher  pressure.  Moreover, 
the  action  has  to  be  conscious,  or  at  any  rate  sub-conscious 
instead  of  automatic. 

Very  elaborate  courses  of  breathing  exercises  are  sometimes 
prescribed  by  enthusiasts,  but  their  study  by  the  ordinary 
teacher  is  happily  not  necessary.  She  can  quite  easily  devise 
her  own  scheme  by  remembering  the  main  objects  of  such 
exercises,  viz.  {a)  to  increase  the  capacity  to  take  deep  in- 
spiration, (6)  to  strengthen  and  secure  control  of  the  muscles 


122  EDUCATION   BY  LIFE 

which  prevent  the  ribs  from  collapsing,  and  so  enabling  one 
to  emit  the  breath  very  slowly  and  at  just  sufficient  pressure 
to  produce  the  required  note  at  the  desired  strength. 

Breathing  exercises  being  designed  to  strengthen  certain 
muscles  are,  like  all  exercises  of  this  type,  dependent  for 
their  success  on  the  following  conditions  : — 

(i)  They  must  be  done  regularly  ;    twice  a  day  will  suffice. 

(2)  Not  more  than  two  or  three  minutes  at  one  time  should 
be  devoted  to  them. 

(3)  They  should  be  done  in  a  pure  atmosphere. 

(4)  The  children,  if  old  enough,  should  know  what  the 
object  of  the  exercise  is,  so  that  Ihey  can  concentrate  their 
thoughts  on  the  muscular  efforts  they  are  making. 

(5)  The  exercises  must  be  brought  into  relation  with  other 
work,  e.g.,  reading,  story-telling  and  recitation.  In  these 
lessons  children  mu-^t  be  made  to  breathe  deeply  and  to 
economise  the  breath. 

The  normal  breatliing  exercise  is  this  : — 

Posture.— Erect,  but  not  too  strained  ;  feet  slightly  apart, 
toes  turned  outwards. 

Inspiration. — The  teacher  counts  "  One,  two,"  quite 
slowly,  during  which  the  children  take  a  deep  inspiration, 
preferably  through  the  nostrils,  without  "  sniffing." 

Cautions. — [a)  The  abdomen  must  be  drawn  slightly  in- 
wards, while  the  chest  itself  expands. 

{h)  The  shoulders  must  not  be  raised — this  is  most  impor- 
tant. 

(c)  The  action  must  not  be  violent  enough  to  make  the 
child   look   unnaturally   distended   or   uncomfortable. 

Expiration. — The  teacher  continues,  "  Three,  four,"  etc., 
while  the  children  exhale  through  the  mouth  as  slowly  as 
possible. 

Cautions.— The  necessary  check  on  the  natural  outrush 
of  breath  must  be  effected  by  preventing  the  ribs  from 
collapsing  too  rapidly  ;  the  mind  must  be  concentrated  on 
this.  If  the  children  look  as  if  they  were  being  suffocated 
they  are  checking  the  outflow  by  closing  the  throat.  In  such 
a  case,  let  them  say  slowly  such  a  sentence  as, "  Please  don't 
make  me  laugh  so  much,"  in  a  monotone  while  exhaling. 

At  first  the  children  must  not  be  expected  to  extend  expira- 
tion beyond  six  seconds  ;  this  period  may  be  gradually 
increased. 

The  variations  in  procedure  necessary  to  keep  alive  what 


MUSIC  123 

little  interest  is  possible  in  breathing  exercises,  can  be  obtained 
by  choosing  musical  notes  or  ordinary  words  and  sentences 
to  be  sung  or  monotoned  during  expiration.  E.g.,  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet  or  the  days  of  the  week  may  be  >ung  to  a 
simple  phrase,  or  the  children  themselves  can  be  invited  to 
suggest  a  sentence. 

An  obvious,  though  very  necessary,  remark  is  that  the 
teacher  must  insist  that  the  method  of  breathing  adopted  in 
breathing  exercises  must  be  consistently  employed  by  the 
class  when  songs  are  being  sung. 

The  Larynx. — This  is  the  tone-producing  organ,  containing 
the  vocal  cords  which  correspond  to  the  vibrating  reed  of 
the  harmonium.  But  in  the  case  of  the  voice,  one  pair  of  reeds 
has  to  do  the  work  of  the  whole  row  of  reeds  in  the  harmonium. 
Very  delicate  muscles  are  connected  with  the  vocal  cords, 
which,  by  altering  their  tension  or  their  vibrating  length, 
determine  the  pitch  of  the  note  produced.  These  muscles 
are,  as  usual,  actuated  by  nerves  which  are  under  the  control 
of  the  brain.  The  chief  points  to  be  noticed  by  the  teacher 
of  young  children  are  : — 

(i)  The  very  delicate  structure  of  the  larynx  makes  it 
extremely  liable  to  overstrain  ;  and  this  results  in  a  coarse 
and  "  grating  "  tone  which  marks  the  singing  in  many  Infant 
Schools  and  Kindergartens. 

(2)  The  inability  of  so  many  children  to  imitate  accurately 
a  musical  phrase  is  not  always  due  to  the  lack  of  a  musical 
"  ear,"  but  to  the  impossibility  of  making  the  exceedingly 
delicate  muscular  adjustments  necessary.  With  practice 
this  difficulty  usually  disappears. 

Resonanxe. — Every  one  is  famihar  with  the  fact  that  the 
sound  produced  by  a  vibrating  tuning  fork  is  very  feeble 
until  its  lower  end  is  placed  on  a  hollow  box,  when  the  volume 
or  resonance  is  largely  increased.  The  reason  is  that  the 
vibrations  of  the  fork  are  then  communicated  to  the  box  and 
the  air  contained  within  it,  so  that  the  vibrating  area  is 
immensely  increased.  In  the  case  of  the  voice,  the  nasal 
cavities,  the  walls  of  the  chest  and  the  bones  of  the  head 
correspond  with  the  box  ;  the  \ocal  cords  vibratin^'  by  them- 
selves give  but  a  small  tone. 

This  problem  of  resonance  can  be  dealt  with  by  the  teacher 
of  a  class  of  young  children  only  in  an  indirect  way.  The 
best  methods  available  here  for  securing  resonance  are  ; — 


124  EDUCATION   BY  LIFE 

(i)  A  good  posture  must  be  assumed  ;  the  chest  well 
expanded  and  the  head  not  allowed  to  droop. 

(2)  The  position  of  the  tongue  and  lower  jaw  proper  for 
the  production  of  the  various  vowel  sounds  must  be  accurately 
assumed  ;  this  is  primarily  a  matter  of  phonetics  and  is 
dealt  with  in  the  reading  lesson. 

(3)  Humming  a  tune  is  a  very  useful  and  pleasant  exercise, 
but  the  sound  must  be  felt  high  up  at  the  back  of  the  nose 
and  not  in  the  nostrils,  otherwise  a  disagreeably  nasal  tone 
will  be  the  result. 

Voice  Exercises. — These  are  necessary,  but  care  must 
be  taken  to  make  them  attractive.  They  must  have  for 
their  object  tlie  attainment  of  some  specific  virtue  or  the 
eradication  of  some  acquired  defect.  They  should  not  be 
employed  for  long  at  a  time,  and  can  be  effectively  used  at 
odd  moments  during  the  day.  A  set  of  such  exercises  is 
appended,  although  this  list  must  not  be  considered  ex- 
haustive, but  merely  as  a  model  upon  which  others  can  be 
based. 

A  word  may  be  added  regarding  soft  singing.  It  is  gener- 
ally stated  that  soft  singing  should,  as  a  rule,  be  insisted 
upon.  Quite  so,  but  is  there  anything  morally  or  artistically 
wrong  in  singing  loudly  ?  Certainly  not,  except  that  experi- 
ence shows  that  loud  singing  is  nearly  always  harsh.  Loud 
singing  without  harshness  is  as  artistic  as  soft  singing.  To 
sing  loudly  without  coarseness  is  an  accomplishment  only 
attainable  after  much  careful  practice  under  good  and  con- 
stant supervision.  Therefore  a  teacher  must  be  ever  ready 
to  combat  harshness  with  the  command  "  Sing  softly  !  " 
Few  children  understand  the  term  "  harsh,"  but  all  realize 
the  meaning  of  "  loud "  and  "  soft."  An  ever-recurring 
difficulty  is  that  children  do  not  understand  the  signification 
of  "  good  tone."  They  imagine  that  the  more  loudly  they 
sing,  the  more  credit  they  ought  to  get.  All  voice  exercises, 
then,  should  be  sung  softly,  except  those  which  are  expressly 
designed  to  increase  the  volume  of  tone,  e.g.,  exercise  7,  page 
126,  and  these  must  be  introduced  very  cautiously. 


MUSIC 

VOICE   EXERCISES. 


125 


i 


mt 


5-c ^ 


V 


00 
oh 
aw 


00 
oh 
aw 


00 
oh 
aw 


etc. 


Also  to  other  vowels. 

Slow 


^ 


r=^ 


:^= 


r=^^=tq= 


zfzi^z 


00  00 

Also  to  other  vowels. 


etc. 


3- 

^Ts 

> 

»  — 

==^ 

fy^^ 

*-t?- 

-*- 

:::f — 

—e- 

-^ 

-r- 

f — 

— 

h^ 

— 1^ — 

— ^!^ 

U^ 

IZ^^ 

1 

I       saw  you  smile,       I       saw  you  smile,         etc. 
Rock   me     to     sleep,     Rock  me     to    sleep. 


mp 


,  m/ 


t) 


^ 


-P2^ 


:?= 


?^^«^^?^^ 


:t= 


Cuck  -  00  !     Cuck  -  ool     Cuck-oo,  cuckoo,  cuck-00! 

*  Tl.e  comma   denotes  the  points  at  which  breath  should  be  taken. 
mf  ,  p 


gv^^^iS^Eg 


I  hear  the  mer-  ry  church  bells  ring,  Oae,  two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven,  eight. 
6.  mf  ,  pp 


s^ 


?^ 


Lul 


la 


by, 


Lul 


^- 


la      -      by. 


126  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 


Application  of  Voice  Exercises. — It  is  a  common 
experience  to  find  a  class  performing  its  breathing  and  voice 
exercises  in  irreproachable  stj^le,  and  yet  singing  songs  in  such 
a  way  as  to  render  nugatory  all  the  previous  work.  The 
remedy  is  obviously  in  the  teacher's  own  hands,  but  a  few 
hints  may  be  useful. 

(i)  The  places  for  taking  breath  should  be  distinctly  under- 
stood when  the  song  is  being  learnt. 

(2)  If  the  tone  is  incHned  to  be  coarse,  let  the  melody  be 
sung  softly  to  "  00  "  or  "  aw." 

(3)  Use  the  words  of  a  song  during  the  recitation  lesson, 
and  see  that  the  vowels  are  correctly  pronounced. 

(4)  It  is  useless  to  talk  to  children  about  voice  production  ; 
teach  it  by  imitation.  If  there  are  a  few  children  whose 
tone  is  thoroughly  satisfactory,  let  them  sing  by  themselves 
while  the  others  hsten. 

(5)  If  the  tone  of  any  particular  child  is  coarse,  do  not 
allow  him  to  sing  with  the  others,  unless  he  sings  very  softly. 

(6)  No  good  vocal  tone  can  be  produced  if  singing  i^  accom- 
panied by  violent  physical  exercise.  See  the  remarks  on 
"  Singing  Games";  page  135  (g). 

Vocal  Registers. — Nearly  all  children  have  two  distinct 
qualities  of  tone  within  their  vocal  compass  ;  one  is  that 
characteristic  of  their  ordinary  speaking  voice,  another  is 
observed  when  they  produce  high  notes.  In  the  case  of  some 
children — boys  especially — ^the  difference  is  as  marked  as 
tliat  between  the  tone  of  a  violin  and  that  of  a  flute.  The 
terminology  generally  employed  to  describe  the  phenomenon 
is  "  chest  voice  "  and  "  head  voice."  Space  does  not  permit 
any  detailed  discussion  of  this  topic,  and  it  is  hardly  necessary, 
as  the  distinction  is  not  so  clearly  marked  in  the  case  of 
young  children  as  when  they  reach  the  age  of  ten  and  upwards. 

This  much  can  be  said,  however.     The  practicable  compass 


for  small  children  lies  between 


ms 


f 


MUSIC  127 

The  notes  above  D  on  the  fourth  line,  if  not  sung  too  loudly, 
can  only  be  produced  in  the  "  head  voice,"  and  are  of  a  pleas- 
ant flute-hke  quality.  The  lowest  notes  from  C  to  E  on 
the  first  line  can  only  be  sung  in  the  "  ( best  voice  "  and 
the  tone-quality  is  more  robu-^t — not  to  say  coarse.  The 
middle  notes  lying  between  F  and  the  D  above  can  be  sung 
either  as  "  chest  "  or  as  "  head  "  notes.  If  sung  as  "  chest  " 
notes  they  are  incHned  to  be  very  rough,  and  the  higher  the 
note  the  worse  the  quality,  until  the  note  is  produced  only 
with  considerable  strain.     The  aim  should  be  to  get  all  notes 


between  snng  in  ihe. "  head  voice."     Of  course,  this 

technical  explanation  will  not  be  given  to  the  children,  but 
exercises  will  be  given  to  secure  the  desired  result.  The 
voice  exercises  given  previously  will  amply  suffice  for  this 
purpose.  Loud  singing  will,  with  an  untrained  class,  produce 
just  the  opposite  result. 

Another  good  way  of  cultivating  the  "  head  voice  "  is 
to  pitch  the  songs  rather  high.  Although  as  a  rule  the  com- 
pass given  above  should  be  adhered  to,  there  is  no  objection 
whatever  in  occasionally  exceeding  this  in  an  upward  direction, 
provided  always  that  children  are  told  not  to  sing  the  highest 
notes  if  they  "  hurt." 

Rhythm 

Rhythm  is  an  essential  of  music.  It  has  its  origin  in  the 
alternation  of  effort  (accent)  with  relaxation  (non-accent), 
which  is  a  fundamental  feature  of  all  movement.  Up  to  a 
certain  point  rhythm  is  instinctive  ;  we  perform  many  acts, 
e.g.,  walking,  without  being  conscious  of  their  rhythmic 
character.  There  are  two  correlated  aspects  of  rhythm : 
rhythm  which  we  feel  and  rhythm  which  we  hear.  Of  these 
two  varieties,  that  of  movement — "  feeling  rhythm,"  as  it  is 
called,  is  the  more  primitive,  and  should  receive  special  atten- 
tion in  the  Infant  School  or  Kindergarten.  Singing  games 
and  physical  exercises  done  with  musical  accompaniment 
contribute  towards  this  end. 

Many  songs,  e.g.,  "  Three  Wind  mice,"  depend  for  their 
effect  more  on  their  rhythm  than  on  the  melody,  and  unless 
they  are  sung  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  the  rhythm  into 
prominence  all  the  charm  is  lost.     How  is  rhythmic  singing 


128  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

to  be  secured  ?  Simply  by  developing  the  two  kinds  of 
rhythm  together.  As  a  simple  example  take  a  lullaby.  The 
children,  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  learn  the  song,  should  per- 
form a  simple  rocking  or  swaying  movement  in  time  with 
the  music.  Even  if  the  song  be  sung  subsequently  without 
movements  the  original  rhythmic  idea  will  persist. 

It  is  a  good  and  not  a  bad  thing  for  children  to  move  their 
limbs  when  singing  in  the  ordinary  way.  The  command, 
"  Sit  quite  still  !  "  given  as  the  prelude  to  a  song  is  quite  out 
of  place. 

Formal,  but  not  uninteresting  exercises  in  rhythm  may 
sometimes  be  given.  The  children  may  imitate  a  simple 
rhythm,  e.g.,  { |  d  : — :d  |  d  :  d  :  d  |  d  : —  : —  |  d  : —  : —  ||  clap- 
ped by  the  teacher,  but  it  must  be  distinctly  understood 
that  rhythm  implies  accent,  and  the  accented  notes  must  be 
very  clearly  marked.  After  the  phrase  has  been  clapped, 
words  may  be  fitted,  e.g.,  "  What  are  Uttle  boys  made  of  ?  " 
and  then  a  melody  can  be  added,  thus  : — 

lid:— :r  !m:f  :s  |1:— :—  [s:— :— [|. 

The  teacher  must  not  assume  that  suitable  phrases  can  be 
invented  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  ;  they  must  be  pre- 
pared beforehand. 

It  is  very  interesting  if  children  themselves  are  encouraged 
to  suggest  suitable  movements  to  rhythms  sung  or  played 
by  the  teacher.  Some  children  are  quite  clever  in  this 
direction. 

There  are  two  fruitful  sources  of  t^wrhythmic  training  :  one 
is  found  when  children  are  allowed  to  march  "  out  of  time  " 
with  the  music  played.  The  march  tunes  played  on  the 
piano  should  be  performed  at  such  a  speed  that  even  the 
smallest  child  can  comfortably  keep  in  step  ;  small  children 
have  to  take  short  and  comparatively  quick  steps.  The  otlier 
warning  has  to  be  given  in  connexion  with  so  called  "  Action 
songs."  It  is  i)itiable  to  think  of  the  vast  amount  of  time 
wasted  over  most  of  these  effusions.  Generally  the  actions 
are  forced  and  elaborate,  while  the  tunes  are  banal  to  the  last 
degree.  Unless  the  actions  are  natural  and  rhythmic  in 
character,  they  are  quite  out  of  place  in  a  song  ;  they  are 
merely  a  species  of  physical  drill  witliout  even  the  saving 
merit  of  helping  physical  development.  The  majority  of 
"  singing  games  "  are  not  open  to  these  objections. 

Many  small  children  have  a  keener  sense  of  rhythm  than 


MUSIC  129 

of  melody,  as  evinced  by  their  ability  to  recognise  a  song 
when  its  rhythm  alone  is  played  or  sung.  This  exercise  is 
amusing,  and  is  a  valuable  form  of  ear  training. 

Musical  Notation 

There  seems  to  be  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  whether 
children  ought  to  be  taught  this  subject  at  all  in  the  Infant 
School.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  question  can  be  solved  by 
reference  to  the  teaching  of  reading,  as  the  two  cases  are 
nearly  parallel.  Children  learn  to  talk  long  before  they  are 
taught  to  read,  and  similarly  they  should  be  taught  to  sing 
first  and  learn  how  to  read  written  music  at  a  later  stage. 
But  by  the  time  that  children  have  reached  the  higher  classes 
of  the  Infant  School  or  Kindergarten  they  are  quite  able  and 
willing  to  sing  from  a  modulator,  provided  always  that  the 
time  devoted  to  this  part  of  the  work  is  not  felt  to  be  filched 
from  that  which  ought  to  be  given  to  songs.  Such  instruction 
ought  to  be  recognized  as  a  pleasant  little  interlude  between 
the  other  more  important  sections  of  the  lesson.  Every 
possible  resource  must  be  employed  to  prevent  such  teaching 
from  becoming  dull  ;  the  actual  amount  of  matter  to  be  taught 
is  very  small,  but  it  has  to  be  gone  over  again  and  again,  so 
that  the  problem  to  be  solved  is  how  to  present  the  same 
material  in  as  many  varied  forms  as  possible. 

How  much  should  be  taught  ?  Syllabuses  generally  agree 
in  restricting  the  amount  to  the  notes  of  the  doh  chord  in  any 
order  and  the  notes  of  the  complete  major  scale  in  stepwise 
order.  (This,  of  course,  applies  only  to  the  highest  classes  : 
the  "  babies  "  will  not  be  bothered  with  any  notation  at  all.) 

The  teacher  has  to  choose  between  two  notations,  the  Staff 
and  the  Tonic  Sol  Fa.  Whichever  is  chosen,  the  Sol  Fa 
principle  must  be  adopted,  i.e.,  the  first  note  of  every  scale 
must  be  called  "  doh,"  the  next  "  ray,"  and  so  on.  Space 
will  not  permit  the  insertion  here  of  any  details  as  to  the  exact 
method  of  teaching  ;  reference  must  be  made  to  one  of  the 
Manuals  on  the  subject.  The  one  fundamental  fact  is  that 
we  have  to  forge  a  link  between  a  sound  and  a  written  or 
spoken  symbol ;  this  is  a  process  constantly  going  on  in  other 
than  music  lessons,  and  the  same  general  principles  will  apply, 
mutatis  mutandis,  in  all  cases. 

All  such  teaching  in  the  early  stages  will  be  solely  by  imita- 
tion. The  scale  itself  is  quite  an  arbitrary  series  of  sounds, 
and  could  never  be  discovered  by  reasoning. 

X 


130  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

I'he  sound  is  more  important  than  the  symbol,  therefore 
children  must  by  practice  learn  to  realise  what  d,  m,  s,  d  sound 
like  before  they  are  shown  what  these  notes  look  like. 

Ear  Training 

This  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  if  it  were  a  highly  technical 
branch  of  musical  education  only.  Ear  training  really  begins 
soon  after  birth,  and  a  sensible  advance  has  been  made  when 
the  child  can  recognize  its  mother's  voice.  In  fact,  long 
before  the  child  has  reached  the  school  age  it  has  had  an 
enormous  amount  of  valuable  ear  training. 

Our  concern  here  is  simply  in  a  formal  way  to  extend  to 
musical  sounds  the  process  which  the  exigencies  of  nature 
demand  from  every  individual  in  the  wider  sphere  of  sounds 
in  general.  The  course  of  musical  ear  training  will  include  : 
(i)  The  imitation  of  httle  tunes  sung  or  played  by  the  teacher. 
(2)  The  recognition  of  differences  of  pitch,  length,  quality 
and  volume  of  notes. 

Most  children  evince  remarkable  aptitude  in  imitating 
musical  phrases,  but  the  teacher  must  not  be  misled  into 
imagining  that  the  process  is  therefore  a  simple  one.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  phrase  {  |d  :  m  .  s  |  d!  :— |l-  The  children 
first  of  all  have  to  perceive  the  phrase  just  as  the  teacher  sings 
it  ;  i.e.,  the  process  of  hearing  must  be  exact.  Some  may 
not  be  able  to  imitate  it  correctly,  because  they  merely  per- 
ceive four  different  sounds  without  really  detecting  the  exact 
interval  between  them,  so  that  they  sing  something  like 
{  |,d  :  r.  m  I  f  : —  ||  without  knowing  that  they  are  singing 
wrongly. 

Again,  imitation  involves  musical  memory.  In  the  case 
of  eye  training  it  is  possible  to  keep  the  object  before  the 
eye  for  a  long  period  ;  musical  sounds  are  fleeting,  and  the 
differences  between  them  are  often  more  minute  than  those 
involved  in  the  most  delicate  variations  in  form  and  colour. 
Therefore  we  find  that  a  musical  phrase,  even  if  quite  success- 
fully imitated  immediately  after  the  pattern  is  given,  is  often 
forgotten  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  seconds.  Indeed,  all  the 
conditions  governing  the  acts  of  memory  and  forgetfulness 
are  present  in  an  acute  form  in  the  particular  case  under 
consideration. 

Musical  memory  is  often  too  good,  as  most  teachers  some- 
times find  to  their  cost.  For  example,  suppose  this  phrase 
is  given  for  imitation : — 


MUSIC  131 

{!  d  :— .r  I  n  :  r  {  f  :  pi  I  r.s  :  n  'I 

It  will  be  found  that  quite  a  number  of  children  will  sing 
the  last  two  notes  wrongly.  During  the  singing  of  the  first 
bar  and  a  half  they  will  be  gradually  recognising,  with  in- 
creasing assurance,  the  first  Hue  of  the  famiUar  tune  "  Austria," 
and  this  feeling  of  recognition  will  be  strong  enough  to  over- 
whelm practically  any  perception  of  a  change  in  the  two  last 
notes  of  the  tune.  The  situation  may  be  shown  diagrammatic- 
ally  thus : — 


X  B         C 

The  line  ABC  represents  the  first  line  of  the  old  tune  :  the 
phrase  given  for  imitation  is  shown  by  the  line  ABD.  The 
longer  the  line  AB  the  stronger  tendency  there  is  to  proceed 
in  the  direction  ABC  rather  than  ABD.  The  remedy  is  to 
subdivide  the  phrase  at  any  suitable  point  X,  and  practise  the 
phrase  XBD  several  times  before  the  whole  phrase  is  at- 
tempted. This  is  perhaps  an  extreme  case,  but  the  number 
of  tunes  which  have  the  first  two  or  three  notes  alike  is  legion. 

Children  generally  have  less  difficulty  in  remembering 
rhythm  than  melody,  provided  that  the  rhythm  is  not  too 
involved.  A  very  good  form  of  ear  test  is  for  the  teacher 
to  rap  the  rhythm  of  a  famihar  tune  and  see  if  the  children 
recognise  it. 

Lastly,  imitation  involves  reproduction.  This  necessitates 
minute  and  exact  adjustments  of  the  very  delicate  muscles 
of  the  larynx,  so  that  the  vocal  cords  assume  just  the  right 
tension  to  produce  the  note  desired.  The  necessary  control 
over  these  muscles  seems  to  be  acquired  quite  early  in  the 
life  of  most  children,  but  there  are  some  whose  powers  in 
this  direction  are  of  slower  growth.  These  are  the  children 
who,  although  looked  upon  as  quite  unmusical  when  in  the 
babies'  class,  yet  seem  to  make  abnormal  advance  later  on. 

Imitation  has  been  spoken  of  in  some  detail  because  it  is 
the  only  method  of  teaching  children  music  in  the  early 
stages,  and  it  is  well  that  the  teacher  should  recognise  that 
its  seeming  simplicity  is  deceptive.  The  following  practical 
hints  may  be  of  service  : — 


132  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

(i)  Since  the  process  is  elaborate,  the  children's  attention 
must  be  thoroughly  secured  before  the  phrase  is  sung  by  the 
teacher.  Sometimes  better  results  are  obtained  if  the  children 
are  instructed  to  close  their  eyes. 

(2)  The  phrase  must  be  sung  incisively  but  not  loudly, 
and  the  rhythm  must  be  well  marked. 

(3)  The  phrase  must  be  repeated  several  times  before  the 
class  attempts  to  imitate  ;  do  not  assume  that  mistakes  are 
bound  to  be  made,  but  try  to  secure  exact  imitation  at  the 
first  attempt. 

(4)  Do  not  give  melody  without  rhythm  ;  rhythm  is  a 
help,  not  a  hindrance. 

(5)  "  Keep  the  pot  boiling,"  and  do  not  trust  that  a  sudden 
inspiration  will  suggest  a  phrase  suitable  for  imitation  ;  have 
all  the  tunes  ready  and  preferably  written  down. 

Another  side  of  ear  training  involves  exercises  in  distinguish- 
ing tones  of  different  pitch,  length,  quality  and  volume. 
Such  exercises  are  valuable  as  the  quickest  method  of  training 
the  ear  to  detect  small  differences  between  musical  notes, 
which  would  otherwise  pass  unheeded. 

Exercises  in  distinguishing  difference  of  pitch  are  easily 
devised.  Two  or  more  notes  are  sung,  and  the  class  asked 
which  is  the  highest  or  lowest.  At  first  the  difference  will 
have  to  be  great,  say  not  less  than  the  interval  of  a  fifth — doh 
to  soh,  but  afterwards  the  interval  may  be  reduced  until  even 
so  small  a  difference  as  a  semitone  is  detected.  Not  till  the 
highest  class  is  reached  will  the  children  be  expected  to  give 
a  name,  doh,  me  or  soh,  to  any  note. 

Exercises  in  detecting  the  difiference  in  length  and  volume 
of  notes  will  be  given  on  similar  principles. 

The  difference  of  quality  between  notes  may  be  illustrated 
by  striking  a  note  on  the  piano  and  then  a  bell  of  the  same 
pitch.  P'or  class  purposes,  a  set  of  common  instruments,  e.g., 
a  small  bell,  a  glass  tumbler,  a  tuning  fork,  a  whistle  and  a 
mouth  organ,  with  a  screen  behind  which  to  hide  them,  will 
provide  all  the  necessary  apparatus  for  most  amusing  as  well 
as  instructive  lessons.  After  being  made  acquainted  with  the 
particular  tone-quality  of  each  instrument  in  turn,  the  children 
are  expected  to  discover  which  instrument  is  being  sounded 
without  actually  seeing  it.  The  exercise  can  be  made  quite 
difficult  by  employing  two  or  more  instruments  simultaneously.^ 

•  The  "  Glockenspiel,"  to  be  described  presently,  lends  itself  well  to 
a  variety  of  uses  in  connexion  with  ear-training. 


MUSIC  133 

Musical  Invention 

This  is  unaccountably  neglected  in  most  schools,  probably 
because  few  teachers  suspect  how  great  are  the  powers  of 
many  small  children  in  this  respect.  Children  in  the  nursery 
will  "  croon  "  (that  is,  invent  tunes  of  a  kind)  hour  after 
hour.  With  a  httle  encouragement  children  will  do  the  same 
in  school,  and  there  is  no  exercise  so  calculated  to  quicken 
and  develop  real  musical  intelligence.  The  tunes  thus  made 
are  not  infrequently  of  actual  musical  worth,  but  this  is  not 
the  real  point  ;  it  is  the  effort  itself  and  not  the  immediate 
fruit  which  is  of  value.  No  details  as  to  procedure  need  be 
given.  The  only  problem  is  how  to  encourage  the  children 
to  do  what  most  of  them  are  perfectly  capable  of  doing  unless 
deterred  by  excessive  self-consciousness. 

The  best  plan  is  for  the  teacher  to  say,  "  Now  two  of  us 
are  going  to  make  up  a  httle  tune.  I  will  sing  the  first  half, 
and  some  one  else  shall  finish  it.  Who  shall  it  be  ?  "  After 
a  volunteer  has  been  secured,  the  teacher  sings  a  very  simple 
two-bar  phrase  hke  this  : — {  |d  : —  :d  |  d  :  r  :  m  |  f : — :  m  | 
r  : — : —  ||  and  the  child  adds  a  corresponding  phrase.  No 
notice  should  be  taken  if  at  first  the  added  phrase  seems 
quite  incongruous  ;  the  point  is  to  get  the  child  to  add  some- 
thing  ;  after  a  very  little  practice  the  additions  will  be  more 
suitable. 

Rhythms  can  be  invented  similarly,  and  I  have  met  with 
several  children  who  were  quite  adept  at  making  complete 
tunes  to  simple  verses.  In  all  cases  spontaneity  is  essential  ; 
if  the  child  stops  to  think,  the  result  is  either  silence  or  a 
quite  unsuitable  phrase. 

Songs 

All  musical  instruction  in  the  Infant  School  or  Kindergarten 
is  merely  preparatory  to  the  effective  singing  of  songs,  and 
most  of  the  time  devoted  to  singing  will  be  taken  up  with 
songs  and  singing  games.  \\'hat  has  to  be  said  here  in  this 
connexion  may  be  conveniently  stated  in  the  form  of  advice 
under  the  headings  :  (i)  Selection  ;  (2)  ]\Iethod  of  teaching  ; 
(3)  Rendering. 

I.  {a)  Songs  should  as  a  rule  be  quite  short  :  it  is  better 
to    teach  two  short  songs  than  one  of  some  length. 

(6)  Avoid  choosing  songs  which  are  intended  to  impress 


134  EDUCATION    BY   LIFE 

prosaic  facts  ;  geographical  and  historical  songs  are  abomina- 
tions, 

(c)  While  the  words  should  be  generally  intelligible,  a  song 
which  has  an  attractive  tune  need  not  be  rejected  merely 
because  it  happens  to  contain  a  few  hard  words. 

{d)  Songs  with  elaborate  and  artificial  actions  should  be 
eschewed  ;  if  a  song  cannot  stand  on  its  own  merits  without 
actions  it  is  not  worth  singing  at  all. 

[e)  The  old  nursery  rhymes  sung  to  their  traditional  tunes 
are  excellent  in  every  way,  and  should  be  used  constantly 
in  every  school. 

The  short  bibliography  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  may  assist 
teachers  in  making  a  suitable  selection  of  songs  and  games. 

II.  The  safest  method  of  teaching  a  new  song  is  as  follows  : — 
{a)  Sing  the  song  two  or  three  times  to  the  class,  adding 

such  verbal  explanations  as  will  contribute  towards  a  com- 
plete understanding  of  its  drift. 

[h)  Take  the  first  line  or  phrase,  sing  it  three  or  four  times 
to  the  children,  and  tlien  let  them  repeat  it.  Teach  words 
and  tune  together,  and  do  not  subdivide  the  phrases  into 
minute  and  meaningless  sections. 

(c)  Proceed  with  the  second  phrase  similarly,  and  then  take 
the  two  phrases  together.  Repeat  until  this  section  is  thor- 
oughly known,  and  then  proceed  with  the  rest  of  the  song  in 
the  same  way.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  too  much  repetition  ; 
try  not  only  to  teach  the  whole  song  in  one  lesson,  but  also 
to  impress  it  on  the  memory  so  forcibly  that  it  will  not  be 
forgotten  before  the  next  lesson. 

[d)  The  correct  stage  for  the  introduction  of  the  piano  is 
when  the  tune  is  nearly  known.  Thenceforward  use  the 
piano  accompaniment  as  often  as  possible. 

{e)  After  the  class  has  made  acquaintance  with  the  words 
and  tune  combined,  the  words  may  be  employed  in  the  recita- 
tion lesson,  and  the  tune  may  be  sung  quietly  to  a  single 
vowel  sound  or  hummed.  If  the  tune  is  strongly  rhythmic 
it  may  be  utiUsed  as  a  piano  accompaniment  to  phj^sical 
exercises. 

III.  Rendering. — (a)  The  principles  of  voice  production 
must  be  borne  in  mind  throughout. 

{h)  The  words  must  be  clearly  enunciated,  but  a  common 
fault  in  Infant  Schools  and  Kindergartens  is  to  exaggerate 
the  consonants  and  to  introduce  the  final  one  too  soon.  In 
some  quick  songs  this  is  of  small  importance,  but  in  many — 


MUSIC  135 

and  always  in  hymns — this  is  a  fatal  defect.  It  is  on  vowels, 
not  on  consonants,  that  musical  tone  is  produced.  The 
correct  place  for  the  consonants  to  be  introduced  is  shown  in 
the  following  example  : — 


=g;p3=3ig5ijipgf^=j  • 


The     su  — n  i  — s  si — nki — ng    fa st. 

Compare  this  with  next  example,  which  indicates  the  wrong 
method  : — 


E="^P3^£^^^^=^^E^ 


-F— P- 


The     sun —  is —  sink — ing —  fast. 

(c)  Details  of  expression  should  be  added  one  by  one;  often 
the  children  themselves  can  suggest  when  it  would  improve 
the  general  effect  to  change  the  tempo  or  volume  of  tone. 

(d)  The  continuous  beating  of  time  is  unnecessary,  but 
conducting  in  a  wider  sense  is  essential.  This  means  that  the 
teacher  has  a  code  of  signals,  perfectly  understood  by  the 
class,  to  indicate  changes  of  expression.  The  gestures  need 
not  be  ungraceful. 

(e)  To  secure  a  unanimous  start  have  a  clear  understanding 
that  every  child  is  to  watch  the  teacher,  and  that  the 
sing'ng  is  to  commence  directly  she  moves  her  hand.  Do 
not  have  any  prehminary  beats. 

(/)  Some  songs  are  stronger  in  rhythm  than  in  melody  : 
in  these  cases  apply  the  principles  given  on  page  127. 

(g)  An  immense  amount  of  harm  to  the  voice  is  done  in 
singing-games,  when  children  are  allowed  to  sing  and  perform 
violent  physical  movements  at  the  same  time.  This  is  easily 
avoided  by  arranging  that  some  children  do  the  singing  while 
the  others  do  the  movements. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  few  teachers  realise  the  importance 
of  allowing  children  to  hear  music  as  well  as  to  sing  it.  After 
all,  there  is  quite  a  considerable  section  of  the  population 
whose  musical  education  has  been  obtained  almost  entirely 
by  intelligent  listening,  and  these  are  people  who  count  in  the 
musical  world.  The  teacher  should  frequently  sing  little 
songs  to  the  children,  not  necessarily  with  the  intention  of 
teaching  such  songs,  but  merely  of  allowing  the  children  to 
hear  them.     Naturally,   teachers  who  are  trained  vocaUsts 


136  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

are  in  the  minority,  but  a  concert-room  performance  is  not 
required.  Any  one  wlio  is  incapable  of  interesting  a  class 
in  this  way  is  a  fortiori  quite  incompetent  to  teach  singing. 

The  same  principle  is  applicable  to  pianoforte  and  violin 
playing.  The  number  of  teachers  nowadays  who  cannot 
play  well  enough  to  dehght  small  children  with  some  easy 
instrumental  pieces  is  comparatively  small,  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  educational  value  of  such  performances  is  suffi- 
ciently realised.  Indeed,  one  can  quite  imagine  a  most 
instructive  lesson  being  occasionally  given  in  which  the  chil- 
dren do  nothing  but  listen. 

A  valuable  instrument  which  should  be  in  all  Infant  Schools 
has  lately  been  introduced.  It  is  a  modified  form  of  Glock- 
enspiel,^ and  consists  of  a  set  of  steel  tubes  or  bars,  each  of 
which  when  struck  produces  a  note  of  the  major  scale.  A 
number  of  uses  to  which  this  can  be  put  will  readily  suggest 
themselves  to  the  reader  ;  e.g.,  a  particular  phrase  played 
on  the  instrument  can  be  understood  to  mean  "  Stand  !  " 
another  "  Dismiss  1  "  and  so  on.  For  ear  training  the  instru- 
ment is  invaluable. 

Lastly,  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged  that  if  the  singing 
of  the  school  as  a  whole  is  to  be  satisfactory,  there  must  be 
cordial  co-operation  between  teachers  of  the  different  classes. 
A  syllabus  should  not  be  drawn  up  for  each  class  separately, 
but  for  the  whole  department,  so  that  there  will  be  continuity 
and  no  overlapping.  Certain  exercises,  e.g.,  those  for  breath- 
ing and  voice  production,  will  be  common  to  all  classes,  the 
necessary  simplifications  being  introduced  for  the  youngest 
children.  Also  a  number  of  songs,  nursery  rhymes  in  par- 
ticular, will  be  taught  to  all  children  so  that  occasional  com- 
bined performances  are  provided  for. 

R.  T.  \\'iirrE. 


BOOKS  OF    REFERENCE. 

The  following  list  is  by  no  means  exhaustive,  but  it  contains  sufficient 
material  to  provide  for  most  contingencies. 

The  School  Teacher's  Music  Guide.  By  Venables.  This  is  a  text  hook 
dealing  comprehensively  with  the  full  course  of  instruction  pur- 
sued in  schools.     (2s.  6d.) 

Boston  Songs  and  Games.  A  large  collection  of  songs  with  piano  accom- 
paniment.    All  easy  and  tuneful.     (4s.  6d.) 

*  This  is  supplied  by  Messrs.  Curwen  of  Berners  Street,  W. 


MUSIC  137 

Songs  for  little  Children.     By  Eleanor  Smith.     A  collection  similar  to 

the  above.     (4s.  6d.) 
Guild  of  Play  Books.     By  Mrs.  Kimmins,  three  parts.     (5s.  each.) 
Brahms'  Children's  Songs.     These  are  German  Folk-Songs  arranged  by 

Brahms,     (is.) 
Stevenson's  Songs  for  Children,  set  to  music  by  Edith  S.  Swepstone. 

Two  parts.     (15.  each.) 

(.A.!!  the  above  are  published  by  Messrs.  Curwen  &  Sons.) 
Dulce  Domum,  a  collection  of  the  Nursery  Rhymes,  with  their  tradition 

tunes  and  piano  accompaniments.     (Cassell  &  Co.  5s.) 
This  can  be  obtained  without  the  accompaniments  for  a  few  pence. 
Song  Garden  for  Children.     Music    by   Norman   O'Neill.     An    EngHsh 

version    of    traditional    French    and    German    Nursery    Rhymes, 

furnished  with  charming  accompaniments.     (2s.  6d.,    pubhshed  by 

Edwin  Arnold.) 
The  following  are  published  by  Messrs.  Novello  &  Co. — 
Twenty-four  Songs  for  Little   Children,   by  Gerald  Cobb.     Two  parts. 

(2S    6d.  each.) 

Messrs.  Novello  &  Co.  also  publish  a  number  of  small  collections  of 
songs  carefully  graded  under  the  title  of  Novello's  School  Songs.  The 
price  of  each  book,  containing  about  six  songs,  is  only  a  few  pence,  and 
teachers  are  advised  to  write  for  a  descriptive  catalogue,  which  gives 
all  the  information  necessary  for  making  a  suitable  selection.  Messrs. 
Curwen's  classified  catalogue  is  also  useful. 


gamp:s 

As  a  name  on  the  time  table  this  is  probably  one  of  the 
vaguest  in  its  significance.  What  side  of  life  do  games  repre- 
sent ?  What,  exactly,  do  we  aim  at,  in  making  them  part 
of  the  school  curriculum  ? 

We  play  games  throughout  life,  and  it  is  hard  to  say  when 
we  begin  and  when  we  end  ;  probably  they  form  one  of  the 
most  universal  interests.  Experience  is  as  a  rule  so  limited, 
that  we  seek  this  method  of  widening  it,  sometimes  in  a 
desire  to  try  our  own  skill,  and  sometimes  to  test  it  by  com- 
petition with  another. 

Games  constitute  one  of  the  most  usual  forms  of  play  and 
play  is,  to  a  young  child,  the  chief  means  of  learning  life. 
The  other  forms  appear  as  various  subjects  discussed  in 
different  chapters  of  this  book.  Froebel  was  the  first  actually 
to  apply  games  as  a  factor  in  the  education  of  young  children  ; 
and  it  is  a  practice  as  dangerous  as  it  is  valuable. 

Games  are  so  much  part  of  a  child's  life  and  interest,  that 
to  spoil  them,  or  rather  thoughtlessly  interfere  with  them, 
may  be  to  spoil  or  interfere  with  something  very  vital  to  him. 
A  child  who  is  attached  to  those  in  authority  over  him,  may 
be  quite  docile  about  doing  what  they  suggest  ;  and  indeed 
our  elementary  school  children  are  made  so  docile,  that  it  is 
often  very  hard  for  either  them  or  us  to  know  what  they 
really  do  prefer.  By  suggestion  or  sheer  relief  from  greater 
boredom,  they  may  be  brought  to  think  they  are  enjoying 
a  game,  when  they  are  only  enjoying  a  change. 

One  thing,  certainly,  is  true — that  we  rush  into  this  part 
of  our  work  without  enough  consideration  of  our  aim  and  of 
the  exttnt  of  our  behcf  in  our  work.  It  is  enough  for  most 
of  us  that  games  form  part  of  the  Kindergarten  svst(>m,  that 
they  make  children  happy,  give  them  change,  exercise  them 
in  some  way  or  other.  So  much  has  the  seriousness  of  the 
question  weighed  with  some  of  our  best  teachers,  that  they 
have  banished  all  forms  of  games  from  their  Kindergartens, 


GAMES  139 

except  quite  free  play,  and  traditional  games  of  the  type 
of  the  Mulberry  Bush.  At  the  same  time  we  have  to  con- 
sider that  a  very  large  portion  of  the  time  of  ordinary 
children  is  naturally  devoted  to  games,  either  alone  or  with 
companions  ;  and  it  is  doubtful  if  we  can  shirk  responsibility 
of  arranging  for  them,  especially  in  the  case  of  children 
whose  home  circumstances  are  not  favourable  to  much 
liealthy  play.  We  have  to  remember,  too,  the  aim  set  out 
in  the  introductory  chapter,  of  reproducing  as  far  as  possible 
the  methods  of  life.  And  the  children  are  with  us  for  a 
large  portion  of  their  working  lives. 

In  the  Kindergarten  system,  as  it  has  come  down  to  us, 
games  have  played  so  important  a  part  that  a  special  type 
of  performance  came  to  be  called  the  Kindergarten  Game, 
and  to  most  of  us  who  have  been  teaching  young  children  for 
at  least  ten  years,  this  kind  of  game  is  very  familiar.  At 
first,  with  the  fresh  enthusiasm  of  the  beginning  of  the  move- 
ment, and  all  the  enthusiasm  that  the  new  ideas  brought, 
these  games  were  doubtless  beautiful,  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
they  were  ever  what  they  aimed  to  be — -a  channel  of  spon- 
taneous expression  for  children's  real  interests  and  energies — 
unless  they  were  spontaneously  started  by  the  children  them- 
selves. Grown  up  people  who  can  now  look  back  on  their 
own  experiences  in  a  Kindergarten  of  quite  a  good  type,  say 
that  they  liked  the  change  afforded  by  such  games,  as  well 
as  the  singing  and  movement  accompanying  them,  but  they 
never  regarded  them  as  play,  and  longed  for  the  time  when 
they  were  free  to  go  to  the  playground  for  touch,  or  skipping, 
or  the  ghost  in  the  garden,  or  schools. 

Their  procedure  is  well  known  :  a  song,  often  a  pretty  one, 
with  pretty  and  suitable  music,  was  learnt  ;  the  children  were 
invited  to  play  ;  there  was  careful  discussion  and  planning, 
presumably  by  the  class,  but  too  often  following,  by  suggestion, 
a  plan  in  the  teacher's  mind.  Very  original  suggestions 
were  not  exactly  crushed,  but  they  were  often  gently  ignored 
or  sadly  endured.  The  teacher  was  generally  unconscious  of 
this.  Generally  the  game  centred  round  a  natural  circumstance, 
e.g.,  birds  in  a  wood,  fishes  in  water,  a  brook,  a  ship  at  sea, 
bees  in  a  garden,  personified  seasons,  or  natural  forces ; 
probably  these  grew  out  of  the  games  and  songs  of  the  ]\I  utter 
and  Kose  Lieder,  or  such  books  as  Music  for  the  Kiiidergartoi, 
arranged  by  Fraulein  Eleanor  Heerwart.  People  have  said 
how  touching  and  beautiful  were  these  games  as  they  were 


140  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

played  by  the  children  of  the  early  Kindergartens,  and  doubt- 
less this  is  the  case,  especially  if  the  children  really  lived 
among  trees  and  birds  and  bees  ;  but  afterwards  tradition 
so  fettered  them  with  its  laws  that  they  might  well  have  been 
called  "  Just  so  games." 

Some  of  the  early  children's  festivals  arranged  by  Froebel 
and  described  by  the  Baroness  von  Marenholz-Bulow,  suggest 
a  simple,  happy  and  unrestrained  atmosphere,  similar  to 
the  English  games  on  the  village  green.  As  such  they  were 
good,  but  in  their  "  Just  so"  form,  come  down  to  us  with 
literal  interpretation  and  exhausted  application,  very  little 
of  the  spirit  of  the  game  is  left,  and  often  a  really  wrong 
one  is  introduced.  The  following  will  show  to  what  such 
games  may  sink. 

To  an  elementary  school,  whose  inspectorial  report  spoke 
in  the  highest  praise  of  the  progressive  and  admirable  work 
done,  some  visitors  went.  In  the  morning  a  game  was  played 
in  the  hall  by  three  of  the  large  classes  at  once  :  the  game 
was  a  representation  of  the  story  of  Ali  Baba.  The  children 
marched  out  of  their  various  rooms  and  took  their  places 
without  any  direction  ;  some  had  cardboard  representations 
of  jars  in  front  of  them  ;  when  all  was  ready  a  very  mature 
conversation  took  place  between  several  of  the  children,  and 
appropriate  actions  were  performed.  When  all  was  over,  the 
children  solemnly  marched  back  to  their  rooms.  Most  of  them 
had  simply  stood  still  for  the  whole  time,  while  the  others 
had  played  their  parts  not  "  themselves,"  as  the  Scotch 
would  say.  In  the  afternoon  a  similar  performance  was  held 
bv  o'h^^r  classes,  in  which  the  motif  was  the  lumting  and 
killing  of  the  stag.  On  inquiry  it  was  found  that  these  games 
had  been  played  every  day  for  three  months.  Between 
these  and  the  festivals  of  Froebel  are  untold  distances,  but 
to  this  can  the  form  without  the  spirit  fall. 

In  a  much  less  harmful  degree  the  restricted  form  of  game 
can  be  seen  when  any  undesirable  idea  is  kept  out  by  the 
teacher's  own  good  taste,  but  when  desirable  spontaneity  is 
also  kept  out  by  her  fettered  spirit,  and  we  see  children  leading 
in  Spring,  or  fluttering  as  birds,  or  swimming  as  fishes,  with 
the  unintelligent  movements  that  show  no  desire  or  power 
to  express  or  to  initiate. 

A  game  should  always  centre  round  some  very  real  interest 
in  the  child's  life  ;  it  is  generally  an  expression  of  some  phase 
of  life  experience  which  he  wishes  to  prolong  or  to  participate 


GAMES  141 

in  more  fully.  He  must  be  able,  in  these  moments,  to  live 
very  intensely,  to  be  as  self-active  and  creative  as  possible. 
If  this  is  only  simulated  or  mildly  organized,  he  may  cease  to 
put  his  whole  self  into  games,  and  thus  lose  the  opportunity 
of  strengthening  his  own  powers,  physical  or  psychical,  often 
however  increasing  in  a  very  real  way  his  store  of  ideas.  He 
should  be  responsible  for  his  part  in  the  game,  and  he  will  as 
a  rule  accept  his  responsibility  gladly.  He  has  to  observe 
more  closely,  to  imitate  more  intelligently,  to  control  his 
body  or  mind  ;  if  others  are  taking  part  his  social  character- 
istics are  fostered,  and  he  learns  to  take  his  place  with  others. 
But  all  this  can  result  only  if  games  come  naturally  as  an 
essential  output  of  the  child's  life,  and  express  what  he  knows, 
or  partly  knows  and  Ukes.  Now  this  has  not  been  always 
sufficiently  considered  in  the  beautifully  correlated  schemes 
of  work  which  were  designed  alike  for  all  children  of  the  same 
grade  or  age.  The  mistake  of  verbal  correlation  had  us  all 
in  his  grip  for  a  time,  and  blinded  us  to  the  real  significance  of 
the  idea.  The  brook  with  its  fishes  is  not  an  essential  part 
of  the  life  of  a  W'hitechapel  child,  nor  the  harvest  field  of  one 
in  Deptford.  Birds  in  the  wood  are  not  life  experiences  of 
the  Black  Country,  nor  the  ship,  of  a  Midland  manufacturing 
town.  It  is  true  that  an  extraneous  interest  and  hnk  was 
created  by  the  Nature  lesson  for  the  week  on  these  or  similar 
subjects ;  but  however  good  and  real  that  Nature  lesson  might 
have  been,  short  of  the  children's  being  taken  to  Nature  itself, 
they  were  not  expressing  in  their  games  what  was  to  them  a 
living  reality. 

Again,  it  is  doubtful  how  far,  at  this  age,  children  are  really 
interested  in  the  stiidv  of  Nature  ;  they  are  undoubtedly 
interested  in  the  industries  connected  with  living  things;  but 
it  is  not  certain  that  they  would  naturally  represent  the 
coming  of  Spring,  the  work  of  the  wind,  the  faUing  of  leaves 
or  the  swarming  of  bees.  It  is  very  beautiful,  often,  to  see 
them  do  so,  but  it  may  be  a  beauty  with  an  adult  interpreta- 
tion and  the  result  of  suggestion  rather  than  of  spontaneity. 
We  have,  of  course,  the  case  of  Pierre  Loti  and  his  child 
friend  who  played  at  caterpillars  for  a  whole  summer,  but 
their  sole  playground  was  a  garden,  and  the  idea  obsessed 
them.  Besides,  they  saw  Uttle  other  life  to  represent.  If 
children  live  almost  entirely  the  solitary  life  of  Nature,  and 
become  engrossed  in  it,  such  representations  may  become 
a  real  game,  but  each  child  wishes  to  reflect  the  life  around 


142  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

him,  and  to  use  and  develop  his  growing  powers,  e.g.,  in  aiming, 
running,  guessing,  counting,  remembering,  hitting,  drama- 
tizing, and  many  other  ways  too  numerous  to  mention.  Any 
game  can  surely  be  called  a  Kindergarten  game  which  helps 
a  child  to  realize  life,  and  develop  his  own  individuality  more 
fully. 

It  is  a  simple  matter,  then,  to  find  out  by  what  means  the 
natural  child  seeks  to  do  this  ;  he  feels  his  growing  physical 
powers,  he  seeks  to  use  them ;  he  is  interested  in  stories,  he 
seeks  to  hve  in  them  and  be  the  hero  himself  ;  he  feels  the 
need  to  put  himself  against  another  both  physically  and 
mentally,  and  we  have  tug  of  war,  rounders,  and  other  ball 
games,  guessing  games,  and  games  of  mental  skill. 

Nature  is  economical,  and  a  child  does  more  than  acquire 
physical  strength  ;  he  gets  control  over  muscles,  keenness  of 
vision,  bodily  control  in  watching  for  a  chance,  and  frequently 
the  social  training  in  playing  for  a  side.  Or  he  is  interested 
in  the  life  around  him  ;  he  lives  in  a  thickly  populated  town 
or  suburb  ;  local  industries,  trams,  trains,  shops,  home  life, 
all  appear  with  a  glamour  over  their  activities  which  later 
they  will  lose.  He  wishes  to  be  of  them  and  seeks  to  represent 
them.  Or  he  may  live  in  the  country  and  seek  to  represent 
tiie  farm  or  the  mill.  In  another  direction  we  have  games 
of  skill,  such  as  dominoes  and  marbles,  the  material  of  which 
has  been  provided  for  centuries  to  satisfy  the  desires  of 
mankind. 

Out  of  all  this  several  questions  arise — 

(i)  Should  we  interfere  with  children's  games  ;  or  by  doing 
so  are  we  liable  to  spoil  them  for  children  ? 

(2)  Do  all  children  if  left  alone  play  in  the  right  spirit  ? 
Could  their  games  be  improved  without  spoiling  them  ? 

(3)  Do  all  children  seek  to  represent  only  the  desirable 
sides  of  life  ? 

(4)  Can  we,  and  if  so  in  what  way  should  we,  make  use 
ol  these  modes  of  expression  in  our  educational  work  ? 

(i)  It  is  a  fairly  common  experience  to  find  that  children 
welcome  a  grown  up  companion  in  their  play,  provided  that 
she  is  not  too  interfering  or  dominating,  and  that  she  has 
sufficient  imagination  to  play  in  their  way,  and  sufficient  self- 
control  to  follow  their  lead.  We  have  many  instances  on 
record  of  the  way  in  which  a  well  meaning  adult  has  spoilt 
children's  games  :  the  mother  of  Jacobli,  Pestalozzi's  child, 
forgot  to  call  him  Butcher  when  he  was  killing  pigs  ;    the 


GAMES  143 

mother  of  another  boy  kissed  him  when  he  was  driving  an 
imaginary  carriage,  causing  him  to  weep  bitterly  and  say, 
"  You  know  you  never  kiss  the  coachman."  The  case  of  Pro- 
fessor Baldwin's  two  children  is  interesting.  They  were  repre- 
senting the  family  life  while  he  sat  by,  reading  ;  when  they 
came  to  the  choice  of  the  father  he  immediately  expected 
to  be  selected  as  the  most  suitable  reality  for  the  representa- 
tion ;  but  they  coldly  passed  him  by  and  selected  one  of  the 
verandah  pillars  for  "  the  father."  Evidently  he  had  the 
good  sense  to  accept  his  fate.  Children  seem  to  resent  the 
introduction  of  properties  or  persons  which  are  too  near 
reality  into  their  plays  ;  it  gives  scope  neither  for  imagination 
or  effort.  If  we  play  with  children  we  must  above  all  things 
play  the  game  as  truly  as  if  we  were  playing  cricket  at  Harrow, 
and  "  the  game  "  means  their  game,  not  our  game,  and  this 
requires  real  study  and  experience  of  them. 

(2)  This  follows  naturally  on  the  last  question.  It  is 
fairly  obvious  that  while  playing  an  apparently  subordinate 
part  in  which  the  office  of  teacher  or  parent  is  completely  lost 
in  the  role  of  player,  even  then  we  can,  if  necessary,  indirectly 
influence  the  spirit  of  the  game  ;  as  a  member  of  it  we  can 
insist  on  fairness.  We  can  resent  roughness,  we  can  suggest 
new  circumstances  if  we  keep  our  children's  background  well 
in  mind.  These  are  usually  received  tolerantly  if  not  affably, 
and  have  their  merits  considered  with  other  suggestions. 
It  is  well  known  that  a  good  comrade  of  any  age  may  do  much 
to  raise  the  spirit  of  play  in  his  own  group  and  even  in  the 
neighbourhood.  The  story  of  a  sand  pile  in  Stanley  Hall's 
collection  of  studies  testifies  to  this.  But  unless  the  teacher 
can  play  this  part  and  play  it  naturally,  and  unless  she  recog- 
nizes the  right  of  the  children  to  lead  the  game,  and  respects 
their  rights,  she  has  no  business  to  play  with  them. 

This  refers  to  normal  cases,  and  we  must  try  to  consider 
as  many  cases  normal  as  possible.  Where  children  show 
by  their  games  evidences  of  real  lack  of  self-control,  or  absolute 
proof  of  desire  to  cheat,  then  the  teacher  or  parent  must 
dominate  as  such.     But  this  should  be  very  rare. 

(3)  If  children's  interests  have  originated  in  a  hfe  which  no 
child  should  Uve — this  must  sometimes  occur — it  is  necessary 
that  they  should  be  allowed  to  express  them  as  little  as  possible, 
or  even  to  express  anything  that  they  might  translate  into 
their  own  terms  of  such  a  life.  For  example,  it  was  found 
necessary,  in  connexion  with  children  from  one  of  the  worst 


144  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

parts  of  Deptford,  to  refrain  from  telling  stories  such  as  Jack 
the  Giant  Killer,  and  to  refrain  from  playing  games  such  as 
the  rovers,  because  the  children  only  understood  them  as 
murders  or  street  fights.  In  their  representations  of  the  life 
they  know,  even  on  its  innocent  side,  it  was  discovered  that 
the  milkman  was  unknown,  and  so  could  not  be  represented 
in  the  life  of  the  street  ;  the  common  practice  appeared  to  be 
that  of  buying  pennyworths  or  even  less  of  Swiss  milk  at  the 
shop  for  general  provisions.  In  such  a  case  ideas  of  life  would 
have  to  be  extended  and  amplified  for  the  chiMren,  on  the 
one  hand,  while  on  the  other  hand  they  would  have  to  be 
discouraged  from  expressing  and  extending  their  personal 
knowledge. 

(4)  If  the  children  are  truly  learning  their  environment, 
learning  through  their  games  to  live  more  fully,  and  to  cope 
with  their  surroundings  more  completely,  then  it  will  be 
natural  for  them  to  learn  through  games  the  environment 
that  we  desire  they  should  know,  also  to  learn  to  use  their 
powers  in  the  direction  that  they  need,  provided  always  that 
their  natural  instincts  and  rates  of  growth  are  considered. 
Thus  to  represent  daily  life  will  make  them  more  observant 
of  it,  and  help  them  to  extend  their  vocabulary  and  to  use 
it. 

A  very  large  part  is  played  by  speech  in  dramatic  repre- 
sentation, and  children  are  constantly  confronted  by  the 
necessity  of  expressing  themselves  through  speech,  in  a  dra- 
matic game  ;  surely,  then,  this  is  a  natural  and  suitable  form 
of  what  has  been  variously  known  as  the  language  or  con- 
versation lesson.  Whether  they  are  representing  a  story  or 
a  bit  of  daily  Hfe,  there  is  surely  more  scope  for  natural  and 
necessary  speech  here  than  anywhere  else.  The  children 
really  desire  to  speak  and  need  to  speak,  and  this  is  the 
only  true  basis  for  a  language  lesson.  Nothing  could  be 
less  educative  than  what  passes  for  the  ordinary  lesson  of 
that  description  :  a  picture,  seldom  a  very  suggestive  one,  is 
put  up ;  children  are  invited  to  say  what  they  see  in  it, 
whether  the  details  are  worthy  of  notice  or  not,  and  they  are 
further  paraly.^ed  by  being  told  to  speak  in  a  sentence  on 
every  occasion.  The  teacher's  mind  appears  to  become  con- 
fused as  to  whether  she  is  teaching  the  spoken  or  the  written 
language,  and  when  remarks  are  scarce  the  lesson  often  be- 
comes a  language  display  by  the  teacher.  The  language 
learnt  or  practised  at  such  a  lesson  will  never  become  part  of 


GAMES  145 

the  child.  He  will  not  continue  to  speak  in  sentences  in  daily 
life,  any  more  than  his  teacher  does  ;  and  the  new  words 
learnt  will  not  be  retained,  because  he  had  no  particular  need 
of  them,  and  may  not  use  them  again  for  a  year,  when  that 
particular  lesson  may  recur. 

A  dramatic  game  will  give  to  a  child  the  appropriate  oppor- 
tunity for  expressing  himself  in  words  ;  so,  too,  will  pictures 
and  picture  books,  used  in  the  rational  way  in  which  they  are  at 
home,  for  then  the  child  comments  on  them,  or  asks  you  to 
"  'splain  "  them.  Other  types  of  game  which  may,  a  little 
later,  form  natural  and  fruitful  ways  of  helping  both  to  use 
and  increase  the  vocabulary,  are  those  known  as  guessing 
games,  descriptive  games,  question  and  answer  games,  rhyming 
games,  co-operative  story  games,  and  many  others  of  the  type 
known  as  parlour  games.  They  are  played  with  zest,  stores 
of  words  are  revised  thoroughly,  and  added  to,  when  the 
need  arises,  the  children  put  their  whole  souls  into  the  effort ; 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  such  methods  are  far  more 
effective  than  those  that  require  children  of  six  or  under  to 
discourse  for  twenty  minutes  on  trees  in  winter,  or  bulbs  in 
spring,  or  the  robin,  or  a  harvest  field,  or  the  seashore,  even 
though  a  picture  be  given  them  as  an  aid. 

The  representative  game  may  be  made  to  centre  round 
other  sides  of  work  than  language,  e.g.,  that  of  number.  This 
is  a  fair  use  of  the  game,  for  it  is  in  the  operations  of  daily 
life  that  we  use  number,  though  from  the  curricula  of  many 
schools  one  would  imagine  children  were  being  trained  to  be 
either  stockbrokers  or  mathematical  professors.  Very  early 
in  life  children  count  their  toys,  at  a  remarkably  early  age 
they  "  swap."  Boys  hardly  ever  escape  the  early  fever  of 
tram-conducting  or  engine  driving,  or  girls  of  shopping  or 
playing  schools.  In  all  these  circumstances  there  is  a  rich 
field  for  number  operations  of  a  very  real  kind,  but  the  game 
must  be  played  well  if  the  number  part  is  to  be  well  done.  It 
is  often  desirable  to  get  into  the  dramatic  situation  through 
a  language  game  medium,  before  introducing  the  number 
elements. 

One  is  well  aware  that  in  our  elementary  schools  such 
games  apparently  occupy  only  a  small  part  of  the  class,  so  that 
at  most  only  about  ten  children  can  simultaneously  take  active 
part  in  these  operations.  And  there  are  those  who  say  that 
unless  the  whole  class  plays  we  cannot  call  the  activity  a 
game.    There  are  surely  many  cases  in  real  life  where  only 

L 


146  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

some  can  play  the  active  part,  while  the  rest  only  look  on  or 
play  a  minor  part.  But  it  is  none  the  less  a  game  for  players 
or  onlookers.  A  skilful  teacher  will  invent  participation  ; 
for  example,  if  we  have  a  shop  with  shopkeeper  and  customers 
and  message  boy,  we  can  surely  have  clerks  making  entries 
on  their  papers  and  calculating  with  actual  coin,  as  well  as 
by  figures,  to  see  that  the  right  change  is  given.  Of  course, 
if  self-control  and  self-government  were  sufficiently  de- 
veloped, and  if  at  the  same  time  sufficient  space  were 
provided,  a  number  of  simultaneous  games  might  be 
played.  Even  in  language  games  the  fact  that  the  whole 
class  form  a  very  critical  and  sometimes  merciless  audience, 
often  full  of  comments,  means  that  language  exercises  are 
by  no  means  confined  to  the  children  who  speak.  It  would 
be  a  great  pity  to  banish  these  methods  because  the  whole 
class  cannot  take  proportionate  part,  and  if  we  do  not  call 
them  games  what  are  they  ? 

Games  of  skill,  such  as  dominoes,  marbles,  skittles,  centre 
round  the  number  interest,  but  this  will  be  more  fully  con- 
sidered in  the  number  chapter. 

In  every  form  of  national  hfe  the  singing  game  appears. 
It  is  a  natural  thing  to  love  to  act  rhythmically  and  uniformly 
with  a  musical  accompaniment  ;  singing  and  dancing  have 
always  gone  together  naturally.  What  is  the  place  of  these 
singing  games  or  rhythmic  actions  in  the  school  ?  The 
answer  must  be  looked  for  in  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that 
children  so  constantly  play  them  in  streets,  greens,  play- 
grounds, and  in  the  past,  at  any  rate,  at  children's  parties  ; 
probably  it  lies  in  their  need  to  express  rhythmic  action,  and 
the  equally  strong  need  to  exercise  the  body  in  a  more  con- 
trolled way  than  by  quite  free  movements.  Surely  this  at 
once  points  out  their  place  in  school.  Physical  movements 
have,  or  ought  to  have,  a  very  important  place  in  the  school 
plan  which  approximates  to  the  needs  of  life  ;  and  besides 
free  activity,  of  which  there  is  not  enough  as  a  rule,  more  con- 
trolled physical  movements  are  necessary.  Children  under 
seven  must  work  with  a  direct  meaning  and  a  direct  end  ; 
they  weary  of  obeying  prolonged  orders  which  necessitate 
their  moving  arms,  legs  and  head,  without  apparent  reason. 
To  perform  again  and  again  a  meaningless  mechanical  action 
means  that  it  is  performed  without  zest,  that  the  will  is  not 
really  acquiring  power  over  the  muscles,  because  the  impulse 
is  from  without  and  not  from  within.     The  natural  method 


GAMES  147 

appears  then  to  use  the  games  that  children  naturally  use 
for  themselves,  and  let  them  do  for  children  in  school  what 
they  do  outside.  About  the  age  of  seven  or  eight,  when 
physical  and  mental  changes  are  rapidly  taking  place  in  a 
child,  and  he  has  realized  more  fully  his  own  power,  and  there- 
fore has  developed  will  power,  he  is  more  ready  and  willing 
to  be  drilled  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  because  he  is 
able  to  recognize,  however  dimly,  something  more  than  the 
power  of  the  teacher,  and  because  it  is  an  unconscious  relief 
to  him  to  put  himself  at  times  under  absolute  authority,  as  a 
member  of  a  social  group. 

It  might  be  useful  at  this  point  to  set  out  conditions  necessary 
for  the  use  of  singing  and  rhythmic  games  and  actions,  for 
purposes  of  physical  development. 

First  of  all  it  will  not  do  to  use  any  old  singing  game,  because 
it  is  old  and  quaint  ;  if  the  children  are  to  benefit  by  the 
exercises  they  must  be  done  with  a  conscious  understanding 
of  what  they  represent.  As  already  pointed  out,  mechanical 
action  becomes  useless,  because  it  fails  after  a  time  to  give 
valuable  results.  For  instance,  if  we  take  the  actions  of  such 
a  game  as  washing  linen,  a  good  teacher  will  consider  two 
things  :  (i)  the  suitability  of  the  leading  idea,  and  whether 
it  will  arouse  the  dramatic  instincts  of  children  ;  (2)  the 
actions  possible  to  produce,  which  should  be  both  faithful 
reproductions  of  the  main  ideas  of  the  game,  and  beneficial  to 
the  physical  development  of  the  children.  To  be  beneficial 
in  this  way  they  must  exercise  those  parts  of  the  body  which 
need  exercise  in  the  best  way  ;  the  exercises  must  follow  in 
such  a  way  that  one  will  counteract  and  supplement  the 
other.  The  game  must  allow  sufficient  exercise  for  all  the  class ; 
frequently  this  is  forgotten,  and  the  greater  number  of 
children  spend  the  time  for  physical  exercises  in  standing  only. 

But  the  amount  of  meaning  the  children  put  into  these 
exercises  will  greatly  improve  their  quality.  For  example, 
the  teacher  will  doubtless  decide  that  the  knowledge  of  all 
the  processes  of  washing,  drying  and  ironing  is  familiar  to  a 
great  number  of  children  and  suitable  for  representation  ; 
she  will  see  that  the  various  actions  faithfully  performed 
with  tlie  appropriate  objects  or  something  like  them  give 
the  right  kind  of  exercise ;  and  generally  when  the  root  idea 
of  the  game  grows  out  of  a  natural  industry  or  act,  the  actions 
are  suitable.  If  the  children  wash,  wring,  stretch,  hang  up  the 
clothes  with  all  their  might,  their  muscles  will  be  well  exer- 


148  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

cised  ;  to  their  imagination  it  is  quite  easy  to  see  the  water 
dripping  out  of  well  wrung  clothes,  but  to  do  wrist  action 
mechanically  soon  degenerates  into  a  flabby  and  listless  motion 
of  the  hand. 

One  must  not  be  led  away  by  the  romance  or  history,  or 
even  the  pretty  music  of  a  game  ;  some  games  are  not  capable  of 
explanation  within  the  range  of  a  child's  experience,  and  others 
imply  an  undesirable  kind  of  experience.  It  would  be  useless 
to  exemplify  here  what  is  desirable  or  otherwise,  because 
that  is  the  privilege  and  responsibility  of  every  free  born 
teacher  ;  we  must  be  neither  lax  nor  prudish,  but  we  must 
be  thoughtful  and  not  just  drift  into  any  new  thing. 

The  kind  of  game  which  has  been  discussed  in  the  preceding 
paragraphs  is  not  exactly  an  expressive  game  in  the  free  sense  of 
the  dramatic  game  ;  it  is  bound  by  the  law  of  unity  of  action, 
a  very  necessary  law  of  life.  The  action  can  be  carefully 
discussed  and  individually  imitated,  but  once  formulated  it 
should  be  uniform,  as  far  as  such  a  thing  is  possible  with 
young  children.  Of  course,  a  good  teacher  would  never 
sacrifice  either  the  pleasure  or  the  usefulness  of  the  game  by 
insisting  on  an  adult  precision  and  exactness,  such  as  we  used 
to  see  years  ago  at  the  Albert  Hall  Drill  Displays;  nor  will 
she  ever  take  a  pleasure  in  a  perfection  of  activity  far  in 
advance  of  the  natural  capacity  of  her  class.  By  so  doing  she 
proclaims  herself  a  quack  teacher,  and  should  be  struck  off 
the  list  of  regular  practitioners. 

These  games  should  not  be  practised  in  any  sense,  but 
should  be  played  for  their  immediate  purpose,  just  as  we  take 
food  for  the  immediate  need,  not  for  practice  in  perfect  eating. 
These  games  should  lead  the  children  to  find  out  a  great  deal 
about  natural  industries,  such  as  farming,  pottery  making, 
weaving,  smithing,  carpentry.  Games  are  not  so  much  an 
expression  of  what  is  known,  as  avenues  for  more  accurate 
knowledge,  modes  of  physical  activity. 

From  all  this  one  thing  stands  out  as  evident  :  that  games 
must  be  regarded  as  a  method  rather  than  as  a  subject,  a 
method  of  approaching  many  of  the  sides  of  hfe,  and  of  trying 
and  developing  various  powers.  They  cannot  be  regarded  as 
a  subject,  and  put  on  the  time  table  simply  as  games,  any 
more  than  "  hstening  "  or  "  looking  "  or  "  making  '  could 
appear.  They  are  by  no  means  the  sole  method  of  approach- 
ing or  applying  any  aspect  of  life,  e.g.,  of  language,  of  number, 
of  physical  development,  but  they  are  one  of  the  very  natural 


GAMES  149 

ways.     The  mechanical   and  unimaginative   teacher  abuses 
games,  and  the  result  is  a  bored  and  lifeless  class. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  in  the  chapter  on  the  personality 
of  the  teacher  how  much  good  taste  influences  method.  It 
is  very  definitely  so  in  games.  Not  every  story,  not  every 
piece  of  life  experience,  not  every  song,  is  equally  desirable 
for  representation.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  stories  ; 
to  represent  some,  e.g.,  the  (juest  of  the  Holy  Grail,  would 
be  nothing  less  than  sacrilege  ;  and  to  represent  others,  e.g., 
parts  of  Ahce  in  Wonderland,  would  be  foolishness.  A  good 
play  writer  uses  the  same  kind  of  discrimination.  Similar 
remarks  have  been  made  with  regard  to  singing  games. 

Games  which  express  ideas  of  life  should  be  subject  to  tests  ^ 
similar  to  those  applied  to  other  forms  of  expression  by  art, 
e.g.,   drawing,   painting  and  modelling  ;    not  everything  is 
equally  suitable  to  express  in  the  same  way,  and  we  must 
discriminate  in  using  the  right  medium. 

"  The  plays  of  children  often  have  very  deep  meaning,  for 
to  speak  plainly  and  concisely,  man  plays  only  where  he  is  a 
human  being  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word,  and  he  has 
reached  full  humanity  only  where  he  plays." — {Schiller.) 

Henrietta  Brown  Smith. 
EOOKS  OF  REFERENCE 

The  Play  of  Man.     Grf  os.     (Heinemann,  75.  6d.  net.) 

The  Play  of  Animals.     Groos.     (Chapman  &  Hall.) 

Froebel's  Explanations  of  Mother  Songs.     Lord.     (William  Rice.) 

The  Education  of  Man.     Hailmann's  translation.     International  Educ. 

Series.     (Arnold.) 
Dictionary  of  British  Folklore,  Part  I.     Gomme.     (Nutt,  25s.) 
Th^  Srhool  of  the  Woods.     Long.     (Ginn  &  Co.,  6s.) 


METHOD  OF  APPROACH  IN  NATURE  STUDY 

The  world  of  Nature  is  the  children's  rightful  heritage.  It 
represents  an  environment  completely  unstable,  ever  changing 
in  its  aspects.  It  requires  constant  adjustment  and  adapta- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  organism,  and  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously the  latter  begins  to  behave  accordingly.  Since  the 
appeal  that  Nature  makes  upon  the  little  child  is  simple, 
direct  and  exceedingly  manifold,  the  response  that  he  shows 
is  expressed  in  constant  and  varied  activity.  From  such 
contact  with  Nature  the  impressionable  and  plastic  mind  of 
the  little  child  accumulates,  through  his  perceptions,  a  wealth 
of  ideas  and  experiences  strong  emotions,  both  of  which  are 
forces  impelling  him  to  action.  It  cannot  for  one  moment 
be  denied  that  the  human  environment  as  well  as  the  region 
of  Pan  stimulates  the  young  mind,  and  thus  he  also  responds 
to  the  former  stimulus  eagerly  at  all  times.  Experience, 
therefore,  in  the  wide  free  world  of  Nature  and  intercourse 
with  his  own  kind  are  the  two  most  essential  conditions  for 
happy,  vigorous  childhood. 

In  the  school  curriculum  social  relations  are  strengthened 
and  widened  by  the  humanities,  while  intercourse  with  Nature 
is  encouraged,  and  the  significance  of  natural  phenomena 
investigated  in  a  course  of  more  or  less  formal  science. 

STAGE  I     (Average  Age,  5-6) 

Formal  lessons  are  out  of  place  Math  children  of  this  age.  In 
country  schools  the  little  ones  should  be  taken  for  short  walks 
and  allowed  to  make  their  own  observations.  The  teacher 
must  draw  their  attention  to  objects  and  phenomena  that  they 
are  likely  to  overlook,  and  the  children  should  be  encouraged 
to  express  their  opinions  freely  on  any  discovery,  and  to  feel 
and  smell  wherever  possible.  A  few  specimens,  the  study 
of  which  had  formed  the  special  feature  of  the  walk,  might 
be  gathered  or  collected,  and  used  as  material  for  more  detailed 

150 


NATURE  STUDY  151 

examination  and  discussion  in  class.  It  does  not  follow  that 
the  attention  of  the  children  is  only  drawn  to  animals  and 
})lants  ;  quite  as  valuable  are  their  experiences  and  observa- 
tions relating  to  the  weather,  the  ground,  the  stream. 

It  is  the  practice  in  many  schools  tor  young  children,  espe- 
cially where  the  great  number  of  pupils  presents  a  difficulty, 
to  abstain  altogether  from  giving  out  specimens  to  the  children, 
to  have  only  demonstration  material  or  a  "  Nature  talk."  If 
such  lessons  arise  out  of  the  observations  made  during  a  walk  or 
work  in  the  gardens,  the  proceedings  are  perfectly  legitimate  ; 
but  if  all  the  children's  attention  has  not  been  consciously 
directed  to  the  subject  discussed,  then  no  personal  approach 
to  the  particular  phenomenon  can  be  assumed,  and  the  lesson 
does  not  fulfil  its  most  essential  requirements.  In  the  case 
of  schools  where  nature  walks  are  not  to  be  thought  of,  material 
for  study  must  be  brought  into  the  room.  Let  this  be  either 
sufficiently  large  that  the  whole  class  can  see,  or  else  let 
it  be  supplied  to  the  children,  even  though  the  process  may 
involve  some  trouble  or  disorder. 

Whether  the  lessons  are  based  on  rambles,  or  whether  they 
represent  the  only  form  of  instruction,  they  should  consist  of 
a  few  remarks  either  reminding  or  informing  the  children  by 
vivid  word  description  of  the  natural  haunts  of  the  object 
presented,  A  good  coloured  picture  often  assists  this  part 
of  the  lesson.  A  few  observations  and  expressions  of  opinion 
on  the  part  of  the  children,  if  possible  without  the  guidance 
of  questions,  constitute  the  lesson.  The  latter  reaches  its 
CO  1  pletion  in  some  definite  record  of  facts  observed  or 
incident  experienced.  This  record  will  take  the  form  either 
of  picture-writing  or  of  modelling,  and  will  probably  be  in  the 
nature  of  conventional  symbols  or  memory  productions. 

Throughout,  the  work  will  be  seasonal,  being  based  on 
real  or  imaginary  rambles,  and  the  pageant  of  the  seasons 
is  marked  specially  by  the  selection  of  typical  topics  for 
discussion.  Thus  in  autumn,  sunflowers  and  nasturtiums, 
together  with  leaves  of  Virginia  creeper,  blackberry,  beech 
and  elm,  would  emphasize  the  idea  of  characteristic  colour- 
ing. Dandelion  clocks,  some  tufts  of  wild  clematis  and 
some  thistle  heads  would  prepare  the  way  to  notions  of 
seed-dispersal.  The  children  would  probably  only  admire 
the  white,  silky,  fluffy  material  that  floats  in  the  air ;  they 
would  suggest  making  it  rise  higher  by  blowing  it,  a  few 
children  being  allowed  to  demonstrate  this  fact  to  the  rest 


152  EDUCATIOxX  BY  LIFE 

of  the  class.  Out  of  doors  the  wind  blows  in  the  same 
way,  so  the  seeds  travel  far.  Teachers  should  be  content 
with  this,  and  not  force  the  thinking  beyond  the  range  of 
experience,  by  telling  the  children  that  this  process  is  of 
service  to  plants.  Apples,  pears,  plums,  tomatoes — to- 
gether with  hips  and  haws — form  topics  leading  to  the 
idea  that  autumn  is  the  time  of  fruiting.  Fruits  are  good 
food — other  creatures  beside  ourselves  find  them  so  ;  for  wasps 
and  blackbirds  the  table  is  freely  spread.  A  group  of  lessons 
on  acorns  and  nuts  will  provide  thinking  material  on  the 
subject  of  hard  cases,  and  means  of  opening  them  among  men 
and  animals.  Bulbs  and  fleshy  roots  such  as  turnips  and 
carrots  are  parts  of  the  plant  that  do  not  die  off,  but  remain 
resting  underground.  Some  serve  us  as  food.  The  Christmas 
tree  and  its  pecuUar  leaves  occupies  our  attention  when  winter 
comes  in  real  earnest,  and  mistletoe,  holly  and  ivy  introduce 
the  topic  of  evergreens.  Such  fruits  as  oranges,  figs,  dates, 
bananas,  brazil  nuts,  and  stories  of  the  people  who  have  gath- 
ered and  sent  them,  appeal  to  the  children's  love  of  the  wonder- 
ful and  the  far  away  at  a  time  when  the  frost-bound  earth 
around  us  shows  neither  colour  nor  life.  Soon  the  smell  of 
the  air  proclaims  the  coming  of  spring,  and  we  review  our 
sleeping  seeds  preparatory  to  setting  them  to  grow.  A  hand- 
ful of  twigs  from  the  horse-chestnut  tree  give  an  opportunity 
of  watching  the  stretching  and  unfolding  of  young  leaves, 
and  lambs'  tails  and  pussy  willows  open  the  pageant  of  spring 
flowers  which  we  watch  until  the  coming  of  tadpoles  absorbs 
our  attention.  In  summer  we  are  kept  busy  with  buttercups, 
daisies,  cowslips,  bluebells  ;  with  caterpillars  and  snails  found 
in  the  gardens ;  and  frog,  newt  and  stickle-back  are  invited 
to  stay  with  us  for  a  little  in  the  class-room,  so  that  we  may 
make  their  acquaintance. 

It  is  not  intended  that  each  of  these  groups  of  subjects 
should  be  dealt  with  in  one  lesson,  but  rather  in  several  short 
lessons.  The  utmost  care  should  be  taken  to  adopt  the  children's 
way  of  approaching  and  describing  things.  Systematic 
description  beginning  with  form,  colour,  size,  etc.,  is  out  of 
place.  Fanciful  interpretations  on  the  part  of  the  chiklren 
should  be  accepted,  but  an  element  of  sincerity  should  be 
preserved  by  the  teacher,  in  that  she  herself  does  not  supply 
fanciful  explanations  which  she  knows  to  be  untrue.  The 
golden  rule  is,  of  course,  that  the  minimum  amount  of  inform- 
ation on  the  subject  in  hand  should  be  supplied  by  the  teacher. 


NATURE  STUDY  153 

Her  place  is  to  be  the  sympathetic  listener.  The  glamour 
of  baby  discoveries  should  at  all  costs  be  maintained  by  pre- 
serving an  attitude  of  expectation  and  wonder ;  this  is  ensured 
only  if  we  avoid  hum-drum,  mechanical,  rigid  lessons  like 
poison.  The  lessons  should  be  much  more  in  the  nature  of 
play  and  incidental  discovery  rather  than  a  process  of  acquiring 
facts. 

W  herever  possible,  and  this  should  be  of  constant  occurrence 
in  country  schools  and  Kindergartens  where  the  classes  are 
not  large  and  provision  of  material  not  so  difficult,  the  children 
should  be  allowed  to  make  things  with  their  Nature  treasures, 
e.g.,  make  garlands  of  leaves  by  pinning  them  together  with 
leaf  stalks,  make  chains  of  rosehips  and  beech  nuts,  collect 
horse-chestnut  leaf  stalks  and  use  them  on  the  floor  or  ground 
for  stick  laying  ;  find  pine  or  better  still  fir-cones  and  make  a 
tobacco  pipe  ;  slit  up  the  stalks  of  dandelion,  fling  them  into 
the  water  and  watch  St.  Bride's  spirals — they  can  be  hung  as 
curls  over  the  ear,  and  do  not  forget  a  tea-set  of  acorn  cups. 

Intimately  bound  up  with  the  Nature  lessons  should  be 
lesson  periods  devoted  to  Nature  stories.  This  is  specially 
necessary  in  city  schools  where  there  is  no  opportunity  of 
experiencing  the  sensation  of  entering  a  great  forest,  of 
basking  in  the  sun,  of  diving  into  the  water,  and  of  having 
tremendous  adventures.  By  vivid  presentation  of  suit- 
able material,  the  sensation  and  general  tone  of  thought 
may  be  awakened,  even  if  the  body  finds  itself  on  a 
hard  school  bench.  The  children  shall  enjoy  their  boundless 
freedom  in  the  region  of  thought,  and  shall  use  it  more 
and  more  consciously.  It  is  of  utmost  importance  that  the 
stories  should  not  be  forced,  or  constructed  then  and  there 
so  as  to  deal  with  the  particular  topic  of  the  Nature  lesson  in 
senseless  correlation.  The  unit  of  instruction  is  not  the 
lesson,  but  the  month  or  the  term ;  and  if  the  undercurrent 
of  thought  in  Nature  lessons  rings  through  the  stories  selected, 
though  they  deal  with  different  topics,  the  right  kind  of 
correlation  is  estabhshed.  Needless  to  say,  selection  of  stories 
should  be  confined  to  such  as  are  good  from  the  literary  as 
well  as  the  moral  point  of  view.  Legends  and  myths  are 
specially  to  be  recommended ;  animal  stories  and  naturalists' 
discoveries  also  provide  suitable  material. 

As  a  supplement  to  Nature  lessons,  and  as  excellent  training 
for  the  children,  many  teachers  recommend  the  keeping  of 
school  pets.     Since  the  little  ones  take  great  pleasure  and 


154  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

interest  in  the  animals  as  such,  and  with  constant  and  careful 
supervision  and  help  can  be  taught  how  to  clean  and  feed 
them,  teachers  allow  the  keeping  of  pets.  The  teacher's  point 
of  view  must  be  fully  appreciated.  To  care  for  httle  beloved 
creatures  conscientiously,  is  service  which  dignifies  the  servant. 
Intimate  intercourse  with  the  animals  is  the  surest  way  of 
displacing  cruelty  by  fresh  and  stronger  interests.  Oppor- 
tunities withheld  by  conditions,  from  the  children,  of  observing 
some  habits  and  changes  in  animals,  are  here  supplied.  The 
cruelty  of  "captivity  in  a  cage  can  be  reduced  to  a  considerable 
extent,  viz.,  by  giving  the  pets  very  large  cages  and  letting 
them  out  from  time  to  time ;  by  choosing  creatures  that 
were  born  in  captivity,  such  as  rabbits,  guinea  pigs,  doves,  or 
animals  that  are  small  and  adapt  themselves  easily  to  condi- 
tions that  imply  food  and  shelter,  such  as  mice. 

Great  though  the  benefits  are  that  may  accrue  to  the  chil- 
dren from  the  keeping  of  pets,  there  are  elements  involved 
in  the  practice  that  tend  to  make  it  undesirable.  From  the 
sanitary  point  of  view  objection  must  be  raised  in  the  first 
instance.  We  complain  bitterly  of  the  overcrowding  of 
classes,  and  the  difficulties  of  ventilation  in  city  schools  where 
the  traffic  outside  keeps  up  a  continual  din,  and  where  high 
walls  and  narrow  streets  allow  little  space  for  fresh  air  ;  it 
is  therefore  not  easy  to  understand  how  the  keeping  of  animals 
in  classrooms  can  be  justified.  They  contribute  considerably 
to  the  organic  impurity  of  the  air  by  their  excretions.  Again, 
either  their  cages  are  so  large  that  they  take  away  an  unfair 
amount  from  the  classroom  accommodation,  or  the  animals 
must  be  let  out.  Neither  rabbits  nor  doves  can  be  taught 
manners,  and  excretions  are  deposited  in  the  classroom  and 
cannot  always  be  removed  at  once. 

If  there  is  a  suitable  landing,  playground  or  garden,  much 
of  the  above  arguments  against  the  keeping  of  animals  as 
school  pets  lose  force,  and  the  practice  has  a  preponderance 
of  desirable  elements. 

STAGE  II  (Average  Age,  6-7) 

The  general  character  and  treatment  of  the  subject  re- 
sembles that  of  Stage  i.  The  topics  must  be  arranged  in 
seasonal  sequence,  and  the  objects  selected  for  more  detailed 
investigation  must  be  considered  somewhat  more  exhaustively. 
It  is  important  that  demonstration  of  a  few  specimens  should 
more  and  more  be  displaced  by  material  that  can  be  dis- 


NATURE  STUDY  155 

tributed  among  the  children.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  this 
involves  much  more  trouble  and  may  lead  to  a  certain  amount 
of  disorder  and  uncontrolled  excitement.  If,  however,  the 
teacher  persistently  proceeds  in  this  way,  and  firmly  and 
tactfully  conducts  the  lesson,  the  children  will  get  into  the 
habit  of  considering  the  situation  seriously,  and  their  inherent 
interest  in  discovering  new  things  will  displace  the  love  of 
mischief. 

Although  there  is  thus  much  similarity  between  the  work 
of  this  stage  and  the  previous  one,  there  are  some  psycho- 
ogical  differences  arising  out  of  the  fact  that  the  children 
have  grown  older,  and  that  their  attitude  towards  Nature 
has  changed.  Whereas  before,  we  concerned  ourselves  mainly 
with  making  fresh  acquaintances;  noting  only  those  features 
and  peculiarities  of  objects  which  will  ever  after  constitute 
the  signs  by  which  we  know  them,  and  distinguish  them  from 
other  objects,  we  now  begin  to  see  meaning  in  such  features 
and  peculiarities.  Before  we  noted  that  the  snail  has  a  shell; 
and  the  shell  was  one  of  the  distinctive  features  of  the  snail , 
now  we  see  that  the  snail  has  a  shell  and  it  can  retire  into  it. 
Last  year  the  children  saw  that  the  frogs  were  greenish- 
brown  with  dark  spots ;  now  they  will  find  that  they  match 
the  colour  of  moss  and  ground,  and  that  they  cannot  be 
seen  at  all  easily  if  they  keep  still.  In  this  way  the  discovery 
of  facts  is  extended  into  the  noting  of  relationships  and  the 
seeing  of  biological  significance. 

Teachers  pass  to  this  change  of  attitude  consciously  or 
subconsciously  very  readily,  all  the  more  as  it  corresponds 
more  nearly  to  their  own.  The  great  danger  is  that  the  chil- 
dren are  forced  not  only  to  see  relationships,  but  to  trace 
cause  and  effect  in  them  all.  Thus  if  the  children  find  that 
the  frog  matches  its  surroundings  as  regards  colour,  and 
cannot  be  easily  seen,  the  teachers  ask  the  question  :  "  \Miy 
does  the  colour  match  the  surrounding  of  the  frog  ?  "  and 
the  answer  is  elicited  :  "  So  that  it  should  not  easily  be  seen 
by  its  enemies."  This  method  of  procedure,  satisfying  though 
it  may  be  to  the  inquiring  mind,  has  many  pitfalls — the  most 
serious  being  that  the  reasoning  and  conclusion  is  based  on 
quite  insufficient  premises,  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  is 
false.  Things  are  not  as  straightforward  and  easy  to  see  as 
teachers  would  have  them  be,  and  many  a  pair  of  facts  that 
look  as  if  one  were  the  cause  of  the  other,  are  simply  conco- 
mitant events,  and  the  combination  of  them  is  of  advantage 


156  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

to  the  organism.  Although,  as  a  general  method,  we  would 
encourage  the  children  to  look  for  meaning  in  things  and  to 
express  their  interpretation,  we  must  be  careful  that  we  do 
not  teach,  as  absolute  facts,  our  interpretations  superficial]}' 
arrived  at  by  ourselves,  or  indiscriminately  borrowed  from 
any  little  text-book.  Further,  it  seems  futile  to  note  every 
triliing  fact,  and  immediately  to  account  for  it  conclusively. 
Some  questions  had  better  be  left  unanswered. 

Arising  out  of  this  perception  and  appreciation  of  relation- 
ship, profitable  work  may  now  be  attempted  in  the  recording 
of  weather.  There  is  much  direct  relationship  between  the 
weather  and  our  own  conduct,  as  well  as  that  of  other  hving 
things  in  our  environment.  This  is  brought  home  most 
forcibly  by  means  of  some  graphic  representation.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  work  out  some  colour  scheme  with  the  children, 
which  shall  represent  the  different  types  of  weather.  Gener- 
ally the  children  choose  yellow  for  a  sunny  day  or  half-day, 
blue  for  a  fine  but  not  sunny  day,  grey  for  rain,  etc.  If  they 
each  have  a  sheet  of  squared  paper  they  can  colour  with  chalk 
the  record  of  weather  for  each  day.  At  a  glance,  later  on, 
they  can  see  the  connexion  between  all  the  sunny  days  that 
came  during  some  period  in  the  year,  and  the  kind  of  subjects 
they  studied  in  the  Nature  lesson  during  that  year,  the  clothes 
they  wore  then  and  the  games  they  played.  A  class  chart 
might  show  the  weather  colour  for  each  day,  and  by  the  side 
of  this  record  illustrations  of  corresponding  Nature  studies, 
clothes,  games,  toys — this  chart  has  special  value  if  it  is 
associated  with  gardening  occupations.  A  foundation  may 
thus  be  laid  for  geographical  studies  later,  when  the  climate 
and  men's  occupation  are  studied  in  close  relation. 

We  find  such  entries  as  the  following  in  graphic  form  : — 

Garden.  Weather. 

Seedlings  droop  and  must  be  watered.     Fine,  warm. 
Seedlings  all  bent  one  way.  Windy. 

Seedlings  cast  little  shadows.  Fine,  sunny. 

At  this  stage,  as  in  the  preceding  one,  as  many  occupations 
as  possible  must  be  devised.  Make  pincushions  out  of  walnut 
shells,  make  lattice-work  out  of  fallen  horse-chestnut  leaves, 
make  baskets  of  leaves  that  are  pinned  together,  make  a  neck- 
lace of  seeds  that  can  be  worn  for  dancing  and  games,  scoop 
out  a  turnip  and  make  a  lantern  for  the  night,  lay  ears  of 


NATURE  STUDY  157 

corn  on  damp  soil  and  see  what  happens,  make  dolls  out  of 
poppies  and  paper  wheels  for  the  wind,  bore  holes  in  shells 
and  make  an  ornament,  string  a  horse-chestnut  and  play  at 
conquerors,  etc. 

Needless  to  say,  Nature  stories  that  appeal  to  the  imagina- 
tion and  love  of  the  wonderful,  and  such  as  will  extend  Nature 
knowledge  beyond  the  realms  of  actual  sense-experience, 
are  still  continued. 

C.  VON  Wyss. 

BOOKS    OF  REFERENCE 

The  Biology  of  the  Seasons.     J.  Arthur  Thomson.    (Andrew  Melrose, 

los.  6d.  net.) 
The  Book  of  Nature  Study.     (Caxton  Pubhshing  Co.) 
The  Nature  Book.     (Waverley  Book  Co.,  46s.) 
Out-door  World  Library.      (Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  ^s.  6d.  net  each 

vol.) 
The  Aims   and  Methods  of  Nature  Study.     J.    Rennie.     (Clive  &  Co., 

35.  6d.) 
Practice  of  Instruction.     ].   W.   Adamson. 

Broad  Lines  in  Science  Teaching.     F.  Hodson.     (Christophers,  5s.  net.) 
P)imer  of  School  Gardening.     M.  Agar.     (Philip,  2s.  net.) 


EARLY  WORK  IN  NUMBER 

Most  of  the  difficulties  of  number  teaching  in  the  past 
have  arisen  from  a  misconception  of  what  is  impHed  by  number, 
and  in  consequence  from  the  unwise  defnands  that  we  have 
made  on  httle  children.  What  is  a  source  of  intense  pleasure 
to  many  children  has  been  made  the  veriest  drudgery,  because 
we  have  asked  children  to  memorize  facts  that  had  no  reality, 
facts  that  it  was  beyond  the  power  of  little  children  to  reahze. 

Children,  before  the  age  of  six,  vary  very  much  in  their 
capacity  to  grasp  numerical  ideas.  If  until  they  are  about 
six  years  of  age  they  are  allowed  to  make  their  own  pace,  if 
they  are  not  made  to  learn  by  rote  and  to  repeat  number 
statements  that  have  no  meaning  for  them,  they  will  go  sur- 
prisingly quickly  after  this.  Educational  authorities  are 
beginning  to  reahze  the  limitations  of  young  children  in  this 
direction,  and  the  last  report  of  a  conference  on  the  teaching 
of  arithmetic  in  London  elementary  schools  is  an  evidence 
of  this.  In  that  Report  the  Committee  think  it  desirable 
only  to  prescribe  what  children  might  reasonably  be  expected 
to  know  on  passing  into  Standard  I  (age  6|),  and  the  Report 
runs  "  Children  before  passing  into  Standard  I  might  be 
expected  to  have  analyzed  numbers  up  to  and  including  lo," 
This  leaves  the  teacher  free  as  regards  method,  and  makes  it 
clear  that  no  set  amount  is  expected  to  be  known  by  the 
children  at  any  age  before  about  6J  years.  This  is  as  it 
should  be. 

The  following  pages  contain  some  suggestions  which  may 
help  the  teacher  to  reach  this  minimum,  and  all  the  remarks 
apply  to  the  early  stages  of  number  work. 

That  the  mmimum  required  in  the  report  can  be  attained 
easily  and  pleasurably,  without  arousing  distaste  for  the 
subject  on  tlie  part  of  the  child,  and  without  any  undue  strain, 
is  evident  if  we  consider  the  home  child. 

The  Development  of  Numerical  Ideas  in  the  Child 
AT  Home  and  at  School. — The  home  child,  if  left  to  himself, 


EARLY   WORK   IN  NUMBER  159 

takes  great  pleasure  in  counting,  and  will  count  things  naturally 
and  constantly.  Up  to  the  age  of  six  a  child  left  to  himself 
in  an  ordinary  home,  and  without  any  apparent  teaching,  can, 
as  a  rule,  count  as  well  as  the  child  of  the  same  age  who  has 
had  formal  number  lessons  at  school  every  day  in  the  week, 
for  he  has  followed  the  rate  of  progress  natural  and  possible 
to  him,  and  has  not  had  his  mind  burdened  with  names  and 
facts  that  for  him  had  no  meaning.  Moreover,  the  home  child 
generally  has  a  motive  behind  his  counting — the  desire  to 
number  things  arises  in  himself,  and  often  his  counting  is  a 
step  towards  some  definite  end.  Christmas  is  at  hand,  and 
it  is  imperative  that  Tom  should  know  the  number  of  pennies 
in  his  money  box  ;  Maggie  is  giving  a  dolls'  tea-party,  and 
must  of  necessity  provide  an  adequate  number  of  plates  ; 
Philip's  toy  soldiers  are  to  have  a  pitched  battle,  and  it  is 
desirable  that  each  side  start  with  an  equal  number  of  men. 

On  the  other  hand,  too  frequently  it  is  difficult  for  the  little 
child  at  school  to  follow  the  formal  number  lesson — and  the 
word  "  follow  "  adequately  describes  the  child's  part  in  the 
lesson — the  effects  of  the  teaching  fade  away  "  into  air,  into 
thin  air,"  and  the  same  fact,  disguised  as  ingeniously  as  may 
be  by  the  teacher,  has  to  be  taught  again  and  again. 

Mistakes  in  the  Past  in  the  Teaching  of  Number. — 
The  following  are  some  of  the  mistakes  that  teachers  have 
made  in  the  past.  Generally  the  counting  has  been  made  an 
end  in  itself,  and  the  impulse  to  count  has  come  from  without, 
i.e.,  from  the  teacher's  will.  Then,  again,  too  often  the 
teaching  of  number  has  been  limited  in  the  mind  of  the  teacher 
to  mere  countmgof  single  things,  with  a  fixed  unit  as  a  start- 
ing point.  If  this  is  all  that  number  means,  its  interests  are 
soon  exhausted,  and  number  teaching  resolves  itself  into  a 
collection  of  facts  to  be  remembered,  such  as  8  and  i  are  9, 
3  from  7  leaves  4,  3  fours  are  12.  But  numbering  implies 
more  than  this.  All  number  knowledge  is  the  outcome  of 
experiences  involving  comparison  of  amounts  of  material  : 
sometimes  the  comparison  is  (i)  of  aggregates  of  separate  things ; 
sometimes  it  is  (u)  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  some  un- 
separated  continuous  material.  Let  us  take  an  example  of 
(i).  We  have  4  pennies,  and  we  are  given  2  more  pennies  ;  we 
then  find  (if  we  have  been  able  to  keep  the  4  penjiies  intact) 
that  we  possess  6  pennies.  When  we  have  had  this  experience 
several  times,  and  with  different  things  at  different  times, 
the  idea  emerges  that  4  things  and  2  things  of  the  same  kind 


i6o  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

make  6  of  the  same  thing,  i.e.,  we  know  that  4  and  2  are  6. 
When  we  say  this  formulated  truth  with  intelhgence,  and  do 
not  merely  repeat  sounds,  we  have  behind  us,  largely  uncon- 
sciously it  is  true,  but  there  all  the  same,  the  experiences 
out  of  which  it  grew.  Another  mistake,  then,  is  that  children 
have  been  presented  with  a  formulated  truth  such  as  4  and 
2  are  6,  either  before  they  have  had  the  experiences  out  of 
which  it  arose,  or  before  they  have  had  enough  of  these  experi- 
ences. It  should  be  noticed  that  to  place  4  tablets  and  2 
tablets  before  children,  and  to  ask  them  to  count  them,  is  not 
to  give  experiences.  It  is  largely  because  this  kind  of  empty 
symbolic  work  has  been  supplemented  by  real  experience  of 
things  outside  school,  that  children  have  been  able  to  count 
at  all  intelligently.  Again,  children  have  been  presented 
with  truths  that  are  deducible  from  one  another  as  though 
they  were  self-evident.  Thus  from  2  and  2  and  2  are  6  it  is 
self-evident  to  the  adult  that  3  twos  are  6,  but  the  Httle  child 
who  has  just  with  difficulty  grasped  what  three  ones  means, 
is  unable  to  grasp  the  more  abstract  idea  of  3  groups  of  two, 
which  requires  increasing  power  of  thought. 

The  teacher  of  to-day  knows  that  her  teaching  must  be 
made  interesting,  but  she  often  has  a  wrong  conception  of 
interest  ;  she  fails  to  realize  that  the  strongest  interest  that 
we  can  create  is  to  give  the  child  a  motive  for  counting,  and 
we  can  do  this  most  successfully  when  we  know  what  underlies 
our  own  efforts  to  count. 

What  underlies  Counting  and  Measuring. — If  we 
dismiss  from  our  minds  schoolroom  arithmetic,  and  think 
of  how  we  use  number  in  every  day  life,  we  find  that  in  order 
•to  fit  means  to  ends  and  so  prevent  waste,  or  simply  to  know 
how  much  of  certain  things  we  have  in  order  that  we  may 
know  what  ends  are  possible,  we  count,  i.e.,  say,  i,  2,  3,  4, 
and  we  aggregate  things  as  8  and  4  are  12.  But  counting  in 
this  way  is  in  the  main  applicable  only  to  those  things  in  the 
world  that  are  separate,  each  one  usable  by  itself,  such  things 
as  chairs,  tables,  shoes,  ships,  walking  sticks,  and  these  make 
up  a  comparatively  small  part  of  the  things  that  are  numbered. 

There  is  another  kind  of  material  in  the  world  that  is  not 
from  its  nature  separated  into  portions  that  can  be  counted 
in  this  way — such  material  as  flour,  milk,  water,  the  foot  path- 
way. The  amount  of  these  latter  things,  as  well  as  of  the 
tables  and  chairs  of  the  world,  has  to  be  estimated,  and  it  is 
estimated  in  this  way.     A  portion  of    the  material  to  be 


EARLY  WORK  IN  NUMBER  i6i 

measured  is  taken  as  measurer,  and  it  is  repeated  throughout 
the  whole.  We  carry  in  our  minds  the  results  of  our  measur- 
ing, or  in  other  words  the  records  of  our  "  repeats,"  and  this 
result  or  record  is  number.  For  example,  in  measuring  the 
length  of  a  garden,  we  can  select  as  measurer  any  convenient 
length  (in  the  absence  of  any  conventional  standard  this 
would  probably  be  the  human  foot),  and  we  step  or  repeat 
in  some  way  this  unit  throughout  the  whole  len,::;th  of  the 
garden.  The  result  is  that  the  garden  is  12  or  15  or  30  times 
the  chosen  length  used  as  measurer,  and  these  numbers 
respectively  record  the  results  of  the  measurement.  In 
measuring  we  are  more  conscious  of  our  power  over  material 
than  we  are  in  counting.  This  measuring,  of  course,  implies 
counting.  In  the  case,  then,  of  continuous  material  we  measure 
off  and  count.  In  the  case  of  separate  things  we  vaguely 
measure  by  merely  counting,  but  it  should  be  noticed  that 
sometimes  we  count  in  ones,  sometimes  in  pairs,  sometimes 
in  dozens  or  half-dozens.  The  mind-process  underlying  what 
is  usually  called  counting  and  what  is  usually  called  measuring 
is  the  same,  but  in  the  process  of  measuring  continuous 
material,  there  is  more  physical  work  done  ;  coal  has  to  be 
separated  into  cwt.  bags,  cloth  has  to  be  marked  off  in  yards, 
and  the  thought-work  is  more  easily  observed.  But  in  each 
case  we  count  because  we  want  to  estimate  the  whole  for 
some  purpose  ;  and  we  estimate  the  whole  by  comparing  it  with 
something  selected  as  measurer,  and  out  of  this  coniparison 
comes  number  through  the  counts  or  repeats  of  the  measurer, 
whether  the  measurer  is  a  dozen  eggs,  a  brace  of  pheasants, 
or  a  lb.  of  sugar. 

When  measuring,  one  has  a  definite  idea  of  the  estimated 
amount,  because  the  unit  chosen  as  measurer,  e.g.,  a  lb.,  a  foot, 
is  known  quantitatively,  i.e.,  the  exact  size  of  the  measurer 
is  known  by  experience,  whereas  when  merely  counting  one 
has  only  a  vague  idea  of  the  estimated  amount,  for  the  measurer 
is  known  only  qualitatively,  i.e.,  by  name.,  e.g.,  because  of 
the  variable  size  of  eggs  or  apples  :  to  speak  of  8  eggs  or  8  apples 
is  to  estimate  very  vaguely  the  amount.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  things  which  used  to  be  counted  merely  tend  to  be 
measured,  i.e.,  estimated  as  exactly  as  possible. 

The  two  ideas  counting  and  measuring  develop  almost 
simultaneously.  The  child  in  his  life  outside  of  school  counts 
things,  and  he  has  considerable  practice  in  estimating  size. 
He  has  6  soldiers,  2  drums,  3  picture  books.     He  measures  : 

M 


i62  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

he  gives  away  half  an  orange,  he  is  taller  than  his  httle  sister, 
he  has  a  gun  three  times  as  big  as  his  little  brother's.  Tom, 
building  a  room  with  his  bricks,  finds  he  has  some  left  over  ; 
he  can  now  build  a  larger  room.  He  is  throwing  pebbles  into 
the  pond,  and  he  finds  that  he  can  throw  farther  with  a 
heavier  stone. 

In  such  ways  the  use  of  these  rough  measuring  terms, 
broader,  longer,  etc.,  are  gradually  acquired,  and,  as  will  be 
shown  further,  on  the  experiences  that  lie  behind  these  terms 
can  be  made  material  for  interesting  lessons  in  school. 

The  School  Supplements  Hoime  Experience. — Outside 
of  school,  then,  the  child  has  many  experiences  of  both 
counting  and  elementary  measuring.  It  is  the  business  of 
the  school  to  provide  many  more  experiences  demanding 
numerical  ideas,  and  of  such  a  kind  as  a  child  would  naturally 
get  in  an  enlightened  home.  The  teacher  will  have  to  see  to 
it  that  the  number  aspect  of  these  experiences  is  conscious 
and  significant,  and  when  the  psychological  moment  comes, 
she  should  help  the  child  to  formulate  his  knowledge  into 
concise  and  conventional  form,  and  to  memorize  it  so  that 
it  may  be  easily  available.  (A  good  example  of  the  way  in 
which  labour  is  saved  by  concise  formulation  is  the  multiplica- 
tion table.) 

Let  us  consider  then  how  the  school  can  provide  :  (i), 
counting  experiences  for  the  child,  and  (ii)  measuring  experi- 
ences, although  in  practice  these  two  often  overlap,  and  as 
has  been  said  above,  measuring,  after  the  first  rough  stages, 
implies  counting. 

Abstract  cannot  be  Opposed  to  Concrete. — It  has 
been  implied  earlier  in  this  article  that  it  is  impossible  to 
consider  separately  abstract  and  concrete  number  ideas.  The 
most  elementary  counting,  even  that  stage  when  the  counts 
were  not  carried  in  the  mind  but  merely  on  notches  on  a 
stick  or  by  De  Morgan's  stones  in  a  pot,  requires  some  thought ; 
and  the  most  advanced  counting  implies  memory  of  things. 
The  terms,  therefore,  abstract  number  and  concrete  number, 
have  long  since  ceased  to  be  used  by  thinking  people. 

Mental  Activity  arises  out  of  Physical  Activity. — 
Every  teacher  recognizes  now  that  children  cannot  count 
unless  they  have  the  real  things,  but  the  majority  expect  the 
children  too  soon  to  be  able  to  do  without  the  tilings  and  to 
work  from  figures,  and  frequently  they  mainly  limit  the  chil 
dren's    experience    to    looking    at    the    things.     The   mental 


EARLY  WORK  IN  NUMBER  163 

activity  demanded  by  number  must  have  its  foundation  in 
physical  activity.  The  children  must  handle  the  things,  and 
must  handle  them  as  long  as  seems  necessary  to  the  individual 
child  ;  afterwards  drawing  or  looking  may  suffice.  Donald 
in  the  course  of  a  number  lesson  had  been  handling  sticks. 
After  a  considerable  time  had  elapsed  his  teacher  said,  "  Now 
can't  you  manage  without  the  sticks  ?  "  "  Well,"  replied 
Donald,  "  I  can  do  without  touching  them,  but  just  let  me 
look  at  them."  We  can  see  Donald  nodding  at  the  sticks,  or 
pointing  to  them  to  help  him  in  counting  them.  This  kind 
of  physical  experience  the  children  must  have  in  order  to 
grasp  number  ideas  ;  without  this  physical  part,  this  touching 
and  nodding  and  pointing,  they  may  repeat  sounds,  but  they 
will  not  develop  numerical  ideas. 

The  problem  before  us  then  is,  how  can  we,  without  becom- 
ing wearisome,  provide  for  every  child,  in  a  sometimes  large 
class,  as  many  of  these  active  experiences  in  counting  things 
as  he  needs  ;  and  how  can  we  create,  in  the  child,  day  after 
day,  the  desire  to  count,  measure,  and  perform  operations 
with  number. 

We  know  from  experience  that  it  is  not  enough  merely 
to  give  a  number  of  counters  or  sticks  to  each  child  ;  nor  is 
the  result  more  satisfactory  if  we  thinly  disguise  them  as 
sweets,  soldiers  or  marbles.  If  we  watch  the  active  children 
of  the  class  we  see  that  instead  of  following  the  teacher's 
line  of  thought,  or  in  the  many  intervals  when  the  class  is 
being  scolded  for  not  working  or  not  attending,  they  are 
constantly  and  more  or  less  surreptitiously  arranging  their 
sticks  according  to  their  own  ideas  ;  they  are  making  some- 
thing; and  in  the  familiar  reproof,  "  David,  you  are  playing 
with  your  sticks,"  we  ^ei  the  solution  to  our  problem.  We 
can  see  in  David's  activities  what  is  natural  to  the  young 
child,  where  his  interests  really  lie,  and  from  this  we  can 
learn  how  he  will  work  most  easily  towards  a  desired  end. 
It  is  for  us  to  see  that  the  natural  desire  of  the  child  to  play 
at  something  or  to  make  something  is  not  thwarted,  but  is 
directed  into  desirable  channels. 

SUGGESTIONS   FOR    COUNTING    LESSONS 

{a)  IN  Play  ;  ip)  in  Constructive  Work. — ^There  are  end- 
less opportunities  for  the  teacher  to  give  experience  in  number 
in  connexion  with  (a)  play,  and  [b)  the  making  of  things, 
and  she  will  be  able  to  formulate  these  experiences  gradually 


i64  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

and  without  any  weariness  to  the  indeed,  child  ;  the  child 
welcomes  concise  formulation  when  he  is  ready  for  it. 

(a)  Number  in  Play. — In  Traditional  Games. — Many 
children's  games,  traditional  and  modern,  depend  entirely 
on  number  for  their  interest,  either  on  a  balance  of  sides  or 
the  number  of  conquests,  as  in  Nuts  in  May,  English  and 
French,  Hares  and  Hounds,  Tug  of  War,  and  other  Hue 
games  ;  or  on  the  score  of  the  side  or  the  individual,  as  in 
Bean  Bags,Tiddliewinks,  Skittles,  Nine-pins,  Quoits,  Dominoes, 
etc. 

A  large  class  can  play  at  these  games  in  the  classroom  or 
playground  with  as  much  zest  as  they  would  if  they  were  at 
free  play  on  their  own  account.  At  the  same  time  they  will 
delight  in  the  number  aspect,  which  the  teacher  will  see  is 
emphasized  throughout.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  the  children  really  play  the  games,  the  educational 
value  is  lost  if  they  are  engineered  through  them  by  the 
teacher.  When  from  the  nature  of  the  game  it  is  impossible 
for  each  child  to  be  an  actor  at  the  same  time,  some  children, 
as  spectators,  can  follow  with  active  interest  the  progress  of 
the  play.  They  can  do  all  the  necessary  counting  and  judging 
arising  in  the  course  of  the  game. 

In  Dramatic  Games. — Much  of  children's  play  consists  in 
imitation  of  the  grown-up  life  around  them.  The  child  will 
anticipate  and  rehearse,  in  his  play  hours,  the  ordinary 
happenings  of  adult  life — 

"As  if  his  whole  vocation 
Were  endless  imitation." 

The  "  Train  "  Game  and  its  Development. — Children  play 
at  "  trains,"  "  trams,"  "  shops  "  ;  they  drill  their  leaden 
soldiers  and  send  them  out  in  battalions  on  active  service, 
and  sometimes  they  send  their  "  ships  in  fleets  all  up  and 
down."  These  more  dramatic  games  can  be  introduced  into 
the  schoolroom,  and  if  they  are  played  true  to  hfe,  they  will 
be  intensely  interesting  to  children,  and  in  the  hands  of  an 
intelligent  teacher  they  offer  almost  endless  opportunities 
for  variety  of  treatment  and  graduation  of  difficulties.  Thus, 
in  a  game  of  trains  with  young  children  the  number  interest 
may  be  quite  simple.  Some  of  tlie  children  may  pretend  to 
be  passengers,  and,  like  a  real  passenger,  each  child  will  have 
his  destination.  A  number  of  passengers  will  alight  at  one 
station,  a  number  will  enter  at  another.     The  teacher,  as 


EARLY   WORK   IN  NUMBER  165 

guard  of  the  train  or  as  ticket  collector  (the  passengers  would, 
of  course,  have  play  tickets),  is  able  through  the  play  itself 
to  command  the  situation. 

Or  all  the  class  may  go  on  an  imaginary  journey  to  a  place 
chosen  by  themselves,  using  their  places  as  carriages  as  they 
would  the  sofa  at  home.  Each  child  might  be  provided  with 
so  many  pennies.  The  number  aspect  of  the  game  will  arise 
from  the  price  of  the  tickets,  and  if  the  children  are  going 
to  a  certain  fair  or  place  of  pleasure  this  number  is  naturally 
the  same  for  all ;  the  remainder  of  their  money  can  be 
spent  on  souvenirs  bought  at  the  journey's  end. 

Or  the  children  on  such  a  journey  might  be  going  to  market, 
taking  with  them  so  many  of  different  things  to  sell :  8 
cauhflowers,  5  cucumbers,  3  lb.  pats  of  butter,  etc.  These 
"  train  "  plays  can  be  worked  out  in  a  variety  of  ways,  accord- 
ing to  the  surroundings  and  experience  of  the  children,  and 
if  they  are  throughout  closely  related  to  reahty,  the  number 
will  arise  naturally  from  the  circumstances,  and  will  invariably 
tend  to  increase  the  interest  of  the  children. 

With  a  class  of  older  children  more  difficult  reckoning  can 
be  done.  The  children  will  work  day  after  day  at  buying 
tickets  out  of,  say,  6d.,  8d.,  or  is.,  in  the  hope  of  going  an 
imaginary  journey  when  they  are  capable  of  buying  their 
own  ticket.  The  play  now  is  highly  serious — they  are  prac- 
tising buying  railway  tickets.  Suppose,  for  example,  the 
number  being  taught  is  12.  The  class  could  be  arranged 
in  pairs,  one  of  each  pair  being  a  traveller  and  the  other  a 
booking  office  clerk.  The  traveller  is  provided  with  is.,  the 
ticket  clerk  with  12  pennies  and  play  tickets.  In  front 
of  the  class,  so  that  all  may  see  him  easily,  is  one  of  the  ticket 
clerks  provided  with  bundles  of  tickets  at  different  prices, 
A  traveller  comes  out  to  the  front  and  buys  a  ticket  to  some- 
where, which  costs  say  5^.  At  the  same  time  all  the  travellers 
buy  5^.  tickets,  and  get  back  from  their  respective  ticket 
clerks  the  correct  change.  In  time  it  would  be  found  that 
it  was  no  longer  necessary  for  each  child  actually  to  handle 
the  coins.  It  would  be  enough  to  have  the  coins  to  refer  to 
only  in  case  of  doubt  or  incorrect  answers  ;  or  mistakes  could 
be  corrected  if  the  children  drew  the  coins  and  crossed  out 
the  number  they  had  spent. 

After  a  series  of  lessons  with  the  journey  motive  behind, 
there  should  follow  the  real  play,  for  which  all  the  previous 
lessons  have  been  a  preparation.    The  classroom  becomes 


i66  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

the  waiting-room,  all  the  children  are  travellers,  many  prob- 
ably have  their  dolls  with  them,  all  must  have  tickets  before 
they  can  board  the  train.  The  travellers  take  their  turns  in 
coming  out  of  the  waiting  room  up  to  the  booking  office,  and 
in  purchasing  tickets  from  the  clerk  ;  occasionally  there  is 
a  small  queue  waiting.  In  this  Httle  community  every 
traveller  is  interested  in  every  other  traveller,  and  all  will 
help  the  purchasers  of  a  ticket  to  judge  if  his  change  is  correct. 
It  will  become  clear  to  all  the  travellers  in  the  course  of  the 
play  that,  since  trains  wait  for  no  man,  they  must  see  that 
the  ticket  clerk  is  efficient,  that  he  is  reliable  and  quick  in 
action.  The  desirability  of  producing  such  a  clerk  from 
among  themselves  might  provide  an  interesting  motive  for 
further  lessons. 

"  Shop  "  Play  and  its  Development. — In  "  shopping  " 
lessons  the  different  activities  of  the  real  shop  may  be  separ- 
ated with  advantage,  and  treated  in  different  lessons.  In 
this  separation,  moreover,  we  shall  be,  as  we  desire,  true  to 
life. 

In  one  lesson  the  children  might  prepare  the  things  for  the 
shop  by  getting  them  into  convenient  and  usual  saleable 
quantities.  The  shopman  will  be  busy  weighing  out,  in  earlier 
lessons,  pretence  pounds  and  half  pounds,  in  later  lessons, 
real  pounds  and  half  pounds  of  this,  and  in  measuring  lengths 
of  that.  These  activities  give  early  exercise  in  dealing  with 
continuous  material,  and  every  child  can  be  working  actively, 
for  each  child  can  make  his  own  pair  of  scales  and  his  own 
measuring  stick  or  tape,  and  can  use  them. 

In  another  lesson  the  children  might  make  the  things  to 
be  sold  in  the  shop.  Suggestions  for  stocking  the  shop  are 
given  under  constructive  work. 

The  dressing  of  the  shop  window  with  care  and  thought, 
so  that  it  may  prove  attractive  to  the  passer-by  and  convert 
him  into  a  customer,  provides  an  urgent  motive  either  for  a 
very  elementary  number  lesson  or  for  one  considerably 
advanced.  In  addition  to  deciding  how  many  of  each  thing 
will  be  displayed,  and  how  tliey  will  be  arranged,  labels  showing 
the  prices,  yt.  for  i,  ^\d.  for  2,  have  to  be  written.  Plveiy 
pair  of  children  can  dress  a  window,  or  there  can  be  a  large 
attractive  window,  arranged  in  tiers,  in  front. 

When  the  goods  have  been  prepared  for  sale  and  the  shop 
window  has  been  dressed,  there  will  follow  the  "  buying  and 
selhng  "  lesson,  which  can  be  worked  out  with  the  children 


EARLY  WORK   IN  NUMBER  167 

in  pairs,  as  was  suggested  for  one  of  tlie  "  train  "  lessons.  It 
is  a  very  simple  matter  to  arrange  these  buying  and  selling 
lessons  according  to  the  capacity  of  the  children.  With  very 
little  children  the  first  shopping  lessons  will  be  very  simple. 
In  their  "  buying  and  selling  "  lessons  the  shop  might  be  a 
id.  bazaar.  Each  child  might  have  a  number  of  pennies, 
say  4,  and  might  buy  a  number  of  id.  articles  from  the  bazaar. 
If  he  buys  three,  for  example,  then  he  discovers  that  the  three 
id.  articles  and  the  id.  he  still  possesses,  balance  the  ^d.  with 
which  he  began.  In  the  same  way  later  he  could  realize 
that  one  2d.  article  and  2  pennies,  or  that  one  3^.  article  and 
id.  account  for  his  original  4  pennies.  Later  still,  one  2d. 
article  and  one  -^d.  article  account  for  a  5^.  with  which  he 
started  his  shopping.  And  later  still,  he  is  consciously  aware 
of  his  "  change  "  when  he  has  2d.  left  out  of  his  original  money 
after  bujdng  one  ^d.  article,  or  perhaps  two  2d.  articles.  When 
he  discovers,  by  paying  for  them,  that  two  2d.  articles  cost  4^., 
and  that  three  3^.  articles  cost  ()d.,  and  that  he  has  4^.  change 
out  of  one  shilling  (12  pennies)  when  he  has  bought  two  ^d. 
articles,  it  is  evident  that  he  is  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
multiplication  table. 

It  has  been  assumed  in  all  these  "buying  and  selling" 
lessons  that  each  child  will  work  with  the  actual  coins  and 
buy  from  his  neighbour's  shop,  or  from  one  or  more  large 
class  shops,  and  will  take  away  the  articles  bought.  Gradu- 
ally he  will  be  able  to  manage  the  calculations  of  each  stage 
by  looking  at  the  coins,  and  at  length  he  will  be  able  to  dis- 
pense with  them  altogether,  and  use,  more  or  less  uncon- 
sciously, his  mind  pictures. 

Written  Work. — Such  lessons  will  lead  on  naturally  to 
written  work.  From  time  to  time,  or  for  part  of  a  lesson, 
the  children  gladly  transform  themselves  into  clerks  and 
"  keep  accounts  "  of  the  amounts  sold  and  the  money  taken, 
or  they  will  make  out  simple  bills. 

Picture  Records. — ^This,  however,  need  not  be  the  first 
time  that  written  work  appears  in  the  number  lesson.  It 
will  greatly  help  towards  making  the  ideas  permanent,  and 
towards  the  necessary  formulation  of  numerical  truths,  if  in 
connexion  with  the  simplest  play  lesson  some  record  is 
frequently  made  by  the  child.  The  earliest  record  would 
be  a  picture  of  the  objects  (probably  in  some  dramatic  situa- 
tion), that  he  has  played  with  in  the  game.  This  picture  will, 
of  course,  be  made  by  the  child  after  his  own  fashion.    The 


i68 


EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 


drawing  of  the  objects  in  that  picture  gives  the  child  additional 
opportunities  for  that  physical  activity  so  necessary  in  building 
up  numerical  ideas.  Further,  if  the  picture  is  free  expression 
on  the  part  of  the  child,  the  teacher  can  see  where  ideas  are 
ha  y  or  wrong,  and  can  plan  her  succeeding  lessons  accord- 
ingly. 

Symbolic  Records. — In  a  picture  of  the  "  largest  score 
made  by  any  one  player  at  skittles,"  say  two  down  out  of 
six  the  record  begins  to  be  symbolic,  and  soon  the  children 
will  delight  in  writing  the  conventional  symbols,  i.e.,  the 
figures,  beside  these  groups  of  objects. 

In  playing  at  trains  or  shopping  the  record  might  be 
partly  picture  and  partly  figures.  Thus  a  3d.  packet  or 
article   and   3d.  =  6d.,   or  a    3d.   ticket   and   gd.   make    is. 


These    records    may    be    represented    thus  : 


and  3d.  =  6d.  ; 


and   gd.  =  izd.    or    is.      Or    the 


coins  themselves  could  be  drawn.  This  leads  on  to  the  clerk's 
record — the  simple  statement  in  figures  of  the  shopping  or 
other  transaction. 

Conventional  Records. — The  teacher  should  guide  the 
children  in  the  making  of  these  latter  records,  so  that  they 
put  them  into  the  form  in  use  in  the  real  world,  and  from 
these  records  will  develop  naturally  the  ordinary  simple 
"  sums  "  or  operations  of  arithmetic.  In  this  way  the  number 
experiences  arising  out  of  all  these  different  "  play  "  lessons 
may  be  formulated,  and  gradually  they  will  be  memorized 
by  the  children  and  become  part  of  their  conscious  number 
apparatus  in  life. 

{b)  Number  in  Constructive  Work. — But  the  child  who 
plays  heartily  works  with  the  same  zest,  and  desires  actively 
to  construct  and  make.  This  desire  to  make  things  provides 
a  motive  for  early  number  work.  In  the  handwork  lessons, 
instead  of  making  things  purposelessly,  and  destroying  them 
as  soon  as  they  are  made,  the  children  could  make  things 
definitely  to  stock  the  shop. 

The  many  different  kinds  of  shops  offer  endless  scope  for 
the  making  of  saleable  articles,  either  for  use  or  for  beauty, 


EARLY  WORK  IN  NUMBER  169 

or  for  use  and  beauty  combined.  In  the  modelling  lesson 
the  children  might  make  things  to  be  sold,  say,  in  the  green- 
grocer's shop,  e.g.,  bananas,  apples,  potatoes  ;  or  baskets 
to  hold  these  things.  The  paper-cutting  lesson  would  go  far 
to  stock  the  linen  shop  or  the  draper's  shop.  Table  cloths, 
table  napkins,  sheets,  and  towels  can  be  made  by  simply 
folding  ;  tray  cloths,  tea-cloths,  window  curtains  and  yards 
of  lace  by  folding  and  then  cutting  a  pattern  ;  dolls'  clothes 
are  easily  made  in  paper,  and  the  frocks  can  be  ornamented 
in  the  painting  lessons.  The  pictures  of  the  ordinary  painting 
lesson  can  make  the  stock  of  an  artist's  shop.  For  a  grocer's 
shop,  besides  the  ordinary  stock,  boxes  and  drawers  are  needed 
to  store  the  things,  and  bags  in  which  to  carry  them  away. 

All  the  articles  made  by  the  children  would  have  to  be 
valued  and  priced  by  them.  The  fact  that  the  things-  made 
by  them  were  actually  of  use,  would  develop  in  them  an  in- 
creased respect  for  their  own  efforts,  and  would  engender  in 
them  a  desire  to  improve  the  work  of  their  hands. 

Suggestions  for  Measuring  Lessons. — It  will  be  seen  that 
both  the  making  of  things  for  the  shop  and  the  shopping 
lessons  themselves  provide  much  incidental  and  some  direct 
exercise  in  measurement.  The  man  at  the  dairy,  for  example, 
must  learn  to  measure  capacity  in  order  to  be  able  to  sell  his 
milk,  the  draper  and  the  carpenter  must  become  proficient 
in  the  measurement  of  length,  and  whoever  heard  of  a  grocer 
or  a  greengrocer  who  was  unable  to  weigh  his  goods  ? 

Of  course,  at  first,  the  measuring  in  the  shop  lessons  would 
be  of  the  roughest  character,  and  only  gradually  would  the 
children  approximate  to  comparatively  accurate  measurement 
and  use  conventional  units  of  measurement. 

Rough  Measurement  in  Play. — But  there  is  a  kind  of 
measurement  that  may  with  advantage  precede  the  roughest 
shop  measurement.  It  was  pointed  out  previously  in  con- 
nexion with  the  child's  experience  out  of  school  in  his  own 
home,  that  he  acquired  the  use  of  such  rough  measuring  terms 
as  large,  small ;  far,  near  ;  heavy,  light  ;  broad,  narrow  ; 
thick,  thin.  Children  advance  their  first  step  in  real  imder- 
standing  of  number  when  they  even  dimly  become  aware 
that  these  are  what  we  call  relative  terms ;  that,  for  example, 
what  is  heavy  compared  with  one  thing  is  light  compared  with 
another.  This  realization  can  be  brought  about  if  we  provide 
things  of  different  sizes  and  of  different  weights  for  the  child 
to  experience.    The  size  of  a  thing  will  often  mislead  him  as 


170  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

to  its  weight ;  a  large  empty  box  looks  heavier  to  him  than  a 
small  solid  cube  of  some  dense  material.  It  is  a  real  joy  to 
the  child  to  try  to  lift  a  seemingly  heavy  article  and  find  it 
light ;  or  to  hft  a  large  air  ball  and  find  it  light  compared 
with  a  small  wooden  one,  which  again  in  its  turn  is  proved 
light  when  weighed  in  the  hand  with  a  lead  one.  In  this  way 
emerges  the  idea  that  the  wooden  ball  is  sometimes  heavy, 
sometimes  light.  This  kind  of  play  gives  the  child  exercises 
in  comparison  of  different  kinds,  and  as  has  been  said  earlier, 
comparison  is  the  foundation  of  all  numerical  ideas. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  child  does  the 
measuring  with  his  own  hands.  It  is  quite  profitless  for  the 
teacher  to  do  the  things  and  tell  the  results.  The  child  needs 
the  actual  physical  experience.  The  teacher,  of  course,  can 
take  her  part  in  the  play.  She  can  jump  high  or  throw  a  ball 
high,  while  the  child  jumps  low  or  makes  a  low  throw.  Then 
she  is  so  tall  that  the  tallest  child  in  the  class  is  small  by  the 
side  of  her. 

The  Development  of  the  Idea  of  Measuring  Units. — Out 
of  these  exercises  grows  the  need  for  the  more  definite 
shop  measurement.  For  example,  we  convey  no  idea  of  size 
when  we  speak  of  a  long  piece  of  cloth.  We  must,  if  we  wish 
to  be  in  any  way  precise,  have  something  by  which  to  measure 
it.  Then  the  estimation  of  its  size  becomes  two  times  or 
three  times  the  measurer,  the  measurer  being  at  first  any  stick 
or  duster  at  hand.  Gradually  the  need  for  a  common 
standard  of  measurement  is  felt.  Eustace  can  carry  his 
measuring  stick  to  Kenneth's  "  make  believe  "  shop  in  the 
corner  of  the  room,  and  can  ask  for  4  yards  of  fencing  for  his 
toy  garden,  but  he  quickly  discovers  that  the  measuring  stick 
is  a  clumsy  and  unnecessary  expedient,  and  he  will  desire  to 
use,  like  people  in  the  real  world  of  affairs,  a  conventional 
standard  of  measurement. 

Measurement  in  Constructive  Work  icith  Bricks. — Much 
valuable  work  in  the  measuring  and  estimation  of  length 
and  size  is  inevitably  connected  with  building  and  making 
things  with  bricks.  By  bricks  is  meant  an  ordinary  toy 
set  of  building  bricks  of  different  sizes  and  shapes,  and 
not  Froebel's  gifts.  Children  are  delighted  to  bring  their 
playbox  of  bricks  to  school,  and  the  best  work  is  done  where 
each  child  can  work  with  the  bricks.  Where  this  is  not 
possible,  nmch  can  be  done  with  a  few  boxes,  the  other  children 
having  strips  of  cardboard  or  stiff  paper  to  represent  the 


EARLY  WORK  IN  NUMBER 


171 


bricks.  These  bricks  should  have  no  dividing  lines  marked 
on  them,  for  the  measuring  unit  will  be  constantly  changed  ; 
also  if  lines  are  marked  the  children  tend  to  count  instead  of 
to  compare  and  measure. 

Some  such  exercises  as  the  following  would  give  the  children 
practice  in  comparison  and  estimation  of  length,  and  in 
composition  and  analysis  of  number  groups. 

Analysis. — Steps  have  to  be  made  up  to  a  house  (Fig.  i).  The 


first  step  is  selected  of  a  convenient  height  ;  the  second  must  be 
found  by  measurement  twice  as  high,  the  third  three  times  as 
high,  etc.  If  there  is  a  landing  the  children  have  repeated 
practice  in  estimation  of  the  same  length,  or  of  combinations 
that  make  up  this  length. 


2       3 

Fig.  2. 


172  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

A  broken  wall  has  to  be  mended  (Fig.  2).  In  copying  the 
wall,  preparatory  to  mending  it,  the  children  have  practice 
in  recognizing  lengths  ;  in  doing  the  mending  they  would 
have  experience  in  equivalent  lengths  or  composition  of 
numbers.  In  work  of  this  kind  the  children  are  constantly 
making  discoveries,  and  they  can  see  visibly  what  they  were 
vaguely  aware  of  through  counting ;  for  example,  they  can 
see  that  a  two  brick  and  a  four  brick  is  the  same  height  as  a 
six  brick,  whatever  the  unit  of  measurement. 

_  The  building  of  houses,  railway  stations,  bridges  and  tunnels 
gives  similar  exercises  in  measurement  and  counting. 

Change  of  Unit  Necessary. — In  all  this  kind  of  work  it 
is  important  that  the  teacher,  from  time  to  time,  should 
change  the  measuring  unit,  so  that  numbers  might  be  pre- 
sented as  relations  and  the  outcome  of  comparison.  It  is 
fatally  limiting  if  the  children  think  of  a  particular  brick  as  a 
one  brick,  of  another  as  a  two  brick,  and  so  on. 

Sticks,  in  combination  with  wet  sand,  might  be  used  as 
apparatus  for  measuring  lessons.  As  lamp  posts  or  telegraph 
posts  or  trees,  they  might  stand  up  in  the  road  of  sand  at 
definite  distances  apart. 

As  far  as  the  children  are  concerned,  the  number  work  in 
all  the  counting  and  measuring  work  suggested  above  will 
be  incidental.  The  children  will  have  been  playing  whole- 
heartedly, or  they  will  have  been  making  something.  The 
numbering  helps  them  and  adds  an  interest  to  their  activities. 
But  the  teacher  can  make  the  work  quite  systematic.  She 
knows  exactly  what  point  the  children  have  reached.  She 
can,  when  she  thinks  it  desirable,  be  quite  definite  and  help 
the  children  to  formulate  the  results  of  their  experience, 
and  she  can  expect  them  to  remember  or  to  be  able  to 
recover  the  number  facts  for  themselves. 

Summary  of  Number  Knowledge  Acquired. — Through 
this  work,  in  which  for  the  most  part  the  number  has  been 
introduced  incidentally,  the  children  should  have  made 
considerable  progress  in  the  acquisition  of  numerical  ideas, 
and  somev/hat  in  the  order  given  below. 

(i)  They  should  be  able  to  count  and  recognize  groups  of 
things  up  to  5. 

(2)  From  the  measuring  activities,  they  should  have  learnt 
such  facts  as  that  5  is  more  than  4  and  less  than  6. 

{3)  Through  knowledge  of  tlie  lower  groups,  they  should 
know  the  higher  groups  from  5  to  10.     Although  perhaps  the 


EARLY  WORK  IN  NUMBER  173 

best  approach  to  a  numerical  group  above  5,  say  the  group 
8,  is  through  8  ones,  yet  the  real  grasp  of  8  comes  through  the 
knowledge  of  it  as  4  and  4,  5  and  3,  etc.,  and  herein  hes  the 
importance  of  the  analysis  of  numbers.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  is  no  analysis  worthy  of  the  name  of  numbers  below 
5,  and  much  harm  may  be  done  if  such  early  numbers  are 
dwelt  on  ad  nauseam.  If  the  child  can  count  3  with  intelli- 
gence, there  is  no  need  for  him  to  say  2  and  i  are  3  ;  if  he 
cannot,  such  repetition  of  words  is  no  help. 

(4)  They  should  have  passed,  if  they  have  kept  their  records 
carefully  and  made  use  of  them,  from  simple  numerical  state- 
ments to  simple  addition  and  subtraction  of  things  and  of 
measured  quantities. 

(5)  They  should  have  practical  knowledge  of  a  foot,  an 
inch,  a  lb.,  a  I  lb.,  a  pint,  a  |  pint  ;  they  should  know  that 
a  sixpence  will  buy  what  6  pennies  will  buy,  and  that  a  shilling 
has  the  same  purchasing  power  as  12  pennies. 

(6)  They  should  have  begun,  through  repetition  of  the 
same  quantity  such  as  would  occur  specially  in  the  shopping 
lessons,  to  build  up  the  simpler  parts  of  the  multiplication 
table. 

Anna  L.  Wark. 

BOOKS    OF    REFERENCE 

Psychology   of  Number.     Dewey   and   McClelland.    (Appleton   &   Co., 

New  York.) 
The  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathematics.     D.  F.  Smith.     (The  Mac- 

millan  Co.,  New  York.) 
Lecture  on  the  Logic  of  Arithmetic.     Mrs.  Boole.      (Oxford,  Clarendon 

Press.) 
Arithmetic  for  Primary  Teachers.     Speers.     (Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston.) 
Primary    Number   Manual.     G.    E.    Bigelow    &    Wallace    C.  Boydon. 

(D.  C.   Heath  &  Co.,  Boston.) 
Special  Method  in  Arithmetic.     Ch.  McMurray.     (The  Macmillan  Co.) 


READING  AND   WRITING, 

Which  "lift  man  beyond  every  known  creature" — Fvoehel. 

An  article  on  the  teaching  of  reading  resolves  itself  into 
an  attempt  to  find  satisfactory  answers  to  three  questions : 
what  are  children  to  read  ?  when  are  they  to  begin  ?  and  by 
what  method  or  methods  shall  they  be  taught  ? 

The  power  to  read  is  a  key,  but  it  is  one  which  can  unlock 
the  doors  of  heaven  or  hell.  It  confers  right  of  entry  to  any 
society ;  the  reader  may  hold  converse  with  souls  sublime  or 
souls  commonplace,  with  the  highest  or  the  lowest.  What 
the  teacher  should  place  before  her  first  and  foremost  is  that 
it  is  her  duty  to  develop  in  her  children,  not  only  a  love  of 
reading,  but  a  love  of  reading  that  which  uplifts. 

Mr.  Huey's  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Reading  is  the  only 
book  known  to  me  which  deals  comprehensively  with  the 
subject.^  All  teachers  of  reading — all  indeed  who  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  education  of  children — ought  to  read 
this  book,  and  to  ponder  the  pronouncement  that  "  present 
physiological  knowledge  points  to  the  age  of  about  eight  years 
as  early  enough  for  anything  more  than  an  incidental  attention 
to  visual  and  written  language-form." 

If  the  physiologists  are  right,  what  is  to  be  said  for  our 
present  practice  of  teaching  children  to  read  long  before  they 
are  six  ? 

The  argument  against  early  reading,  which  is  likely  to 
carry  most  weight  with  the  general  public,  is  that  experts 
tell  us  there  is  an  immense  increase  of  near-sightedness, 
and  that  this  is  due  to  the  untimely  use  of  the  finer  eye- 
muscles.  Nor  is  near-sightedness  the  worst  result  of  eye- 
strain. Mr.  Huey,  quoting  Cohn's  Hygiene  of  the  Eye,  tells 
us  that  "  short  sight  is  almost  always  accompanied  by  atrophy 
of  the  choroid,  which  increases  with  the  increase  of  short 

^  Stanley  f fall's  How  to  Teach  Reading  is  very  sane  and  helpful,  but 
the  write-r  came  across  it  after  this  paper  was  written.  He  maintains 
that  children  should  learn  between  the  ages  of  six  and  eight,  which 
accords  with  the  experience  of  most  teachers. 

174 


READING  AND   WRITING  175 

sight,"  and  that  this  atrophy  is  quite  hkely  to  spread,  and 
sight  may  be  lost. 

Reading  is  undoubtedly  the  most  fatiguing  of  all  near  work 
for  children,  because  the  strain  is  constant.  If  a  child  in- 
stinctively rests  his  eyes  by  looking  away  from  his  book,  he 
is  reproved  for  losing  his  place. 

The  poorer  the  home  surroundings  and  the  larger  the  number 
in  the  classes,  the  later  should  come  the  teaching  of  reading. 
When  the  class  is  large,  there  is  no  room  for  the  free  movement 
and  abundant  chatter  natural  to  young  cliildren.  The  chil- 
dren from  poor  homes  are  often  badly  nourished,  their  hours 
of  sleep  are  frequently  curtailed,  and  the  mental  background 
is  meagre.  There  is  little  leisure  in  such  homes  for  telling 
the  children  stories,  and  there  is  little  money  for  picture  books. 

Much  of  the  time  now  wasted,  and  worse  than  wasted  as 
it  is  harmful  to  eye  and  to  nerve,  in  teaching  young  children 
to  read,  would  be  infinitely  better  spent  in  telimg  them  good 
stories,  in  reading  to  them  good,  simple  poetry,  and  in  letting 
them  talk  freely,  not  formally,  about  everything  that  interests 
them.  It  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  children  taught  to  read 
too  soon  will  acquire  a  distaste  for  books,  and  this  is  the 
worst  service  we  can  render  to  those  whose  circumstances 
oblige  them  to  leave  school  at  an  early  age. 

Though  there  are  innumerable  variations,  there  are  practi- 
cally only  three  methods  of  teaching  reading,  viz.,  the  Alpha- 
betic, the  Look  and  Say,  and  the  Phonic. 

The  Alphabteic  Method.— The  alphabetic  is,  of  course, 
the  oldest,  and  as  a  method  it  is  devoid  of  intelligence. 

Word  and  Sentence  Methods. — The  second  method  is 
the  one  proposed  by  a  little  girl  who  remarked,  "  I  don't  like 
it  when  the  others  know  the  words  and  I  don't.  I  want  you 
just  to  tell  me  the  words."  This  is  the  method  which  gains 
approval  from  most  psychological  authorities  just  now.  The 
children  are  to  be  told  either  the  words  or,  preferably,  the 
sentences,  "thus  making  thought  lead."  Mr.  Huey  argues 
strongly  in  favour  of  this  method.  At  the  same  time,  he  is 
obhged  to  confess  that  the  word  method  "does  not  give  the 
pupil  power  to  pronounce  for  himself  words  that  have  not 
been  met  before,  and  that  phonics  is  finally  iiecessary  for  this 
puypose."  Of  the  sentence  method  he  says:  "The  method 
goes  famously  at  first,  hke  the  word  method,  but  it  breaks  down 
when  the  child  attempts  to  read  new  matter  joy  himself,  so  the 
teachers  commonlj^  say." 


176  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

Surely,  when  these  statements  are  reduced  to  plain  language, 
they  shnply  mean  that  by  this  approved  method  of  teaching 
reading,  the  children  do  not  learn  to  read  ! 

With  individual  children,  one  child  to  one  mother,  and 
generally  speaking  one  intelligent  child  to  one  intellectual 
mother,  the  method  seems  entirely  successful.  Most  teachers 
who  have  tried  it  will  agree  too  that  it  goes  well  at  first,  but 
Mr.  Huey,  who  advocates  it  warmly,  has  not  been  able  to 
find  practical  teachers  who  find  it  successful  all  the  way 
through  in  class  teaching. 

The  Phonic  Method. — The  third  method  is  the  phonic 
method,  in  which  the  children  are  taught  the  powers  or 
sounds  of  the  letters  before  learning  their  names.  Many 
teachers  use  the  "  word  "  method  for  a  few  weeks,  and  then 
analyse  the  words  into  sounds. 

All  Three  Methods  Wanted. — In  this  article  it  is  main- 
tained that  the  phonic  method  is  the  most  satisfactory  as  a 
basis  and  from  the  beginning,  but  that  with  our  anomalous 
spelling  large  use  should  be  made  of  "  look  and  say,"  and 
that  even  the  alphabetic  method  is  wanted  in  some  cases,  if 
not  for  reading,  at  least  for  spelling  purposes. 

I  have  a  very  definite  reason  for  preferring  to  use  from  the 
first,  a  combination  of  the  two  methods  of  the  phonic  and  the 
"  look  and  say  "  or  word  method.  I  have  found,  as  so  many 
others  have  found,  that  the  word  method  goes  well  at  first, 
but  that  the  phonic  is  necessary  if  children  of  average  capacity 
are  ever  to  tackle  new  words  for  themselves.  And  I  have 
also  found,  what  might  be  expected,  that  children  resent 
the  change  from  the  effortless  learning  which  is  the  result 
of  being  told  everything,  to  the  more  laborious  method  of 
putting  together  the  sounds  which  compose  a  word.  On  the 
other  hand,  when,  from  the  first,  an  appeal  is  made  to  their 
feeling  of  power,  even  though  the  teacher  may  tell  a  good 
many  irregular  words,  the  desire  of  the  children  is  to  "  see 
how  many  words  we  can  find  out  without  you  telling  us." 
From  the  point  of  view  of  character  forming,  this  is  much 
more  satisfactory. 

In  dealing  with  methods  of  teaching  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  one  can  only  "  be  fortified  by  scientific  certainty,"  so 
long  as  "  no  new  unsettling  scientific  certainties  happen  to 
have  been  demonstrated,"  as  Mr.  de  Morgan  has  it.  The 
main  objection  made  to  the  phonic  method  is  that  young 
children  do  not  analyse.     But  is  this  true  ?     I  have  watched 


READING  AND  WRITING  177 

a  child  being  taught  entirely  by  the  use  of  pictures  and  whole 
words,  who  knew  hen,  net,  cat,  dogs,  bat,  hall,  etc.,  but  con- 
fused cock  with  duck,  and  dog  with  egg.  Asked  for  tgg  he 
one  day  showed  dog,  and  then  said,  pointing  to  the  g, 
"Oh,  no!  egg  has  two  of  these."  He  was  making  his  own 
analysis. 

Children  too  young  to  analyse  write  a  continuous  scribble ; 
a  little  later  the  scribble  may  more  nearly  resemble  words, 
with  spaces  between.  I  have  seen  a  child  writing  "  a  letter 
to  daddy,"  who  appropriated  a  sale  catalogue  and  carefully 
copied  a  page,  "  Annual  Sale,  Carpets,  Curtains,  etc."  She 
had  arrived  at  a  stage  in  analysis  which  may  well  exist  un- 
noticed in  other  children. 

There  is  no  sufficient  evidence  for  attaching,  as  Mr.  Huey 
does  attach,  the  blame  of  "  mechanical,  stumbling,  expression- 
less readers,  who  are  poor  thought  getters,"  to  the  phonic 
method.  Such  readers  would  result  from  the  unintelligent 
teaching  of  the  duller  children  with  the  best  method  in  exist- 
ence. 

The  Phonic  Method. — The  first  phonic  teaching  I  had 
the  opportunity  of  watching  was  that  of  Miss  Bishop  of 
Birmingham.  Certainly  in  that  teaching  there  was  no  "  mere 
word  pronouncing."  Miss  Bishop  called  the  method  she 
used  by  the  cumbrous  but  descriptive  title  of  "  The  Ob- 
serving, Speaking,  Writing  and  Reading  Method,"  and  she 
traced  it  back  to  Jacotot. 

The  phonic  method  seems  to  date  back  to  Ickelsamer,  who, 
about  1530,  "  considered  the  function  of  the  letters  and  taught 
this  and  not  the  name."  I'he  Orbis  Picttis  of  Comenius  was 
intended  to  teach  reading  by  associating  picture  and  wo.d, 
"  without  using  any  ordinary  tedious  spelling — that  most 
troublesome  torture  of  wits." 

Jacotot  (i 770-1840)  was  the  originator  in  France  of  the 
"  observing,  speaking,  writing  and  reading  "  method,  and 
Seltzam,  a  schoolmaster  of  Breslau,  introduced  it  into  Ger- 
many. He  started  from  a  sentence  in  the  reading  book  and 
analysed  that.  Miss  Bishop  took  as  starting  point  the 
child's  own  experience,  letting  them  talk  a  httle,  then  choosing 
one  of  their  sentences  to  analyse  into  words,  then  a  word  to 
analyse  into  sounds.  Each  sound  was  to  be  connected  with 
the  complete  sentence  as  the  expression  of  thouglit.  If  the 
sound  is  connected  with  an  idea,  this  seems,  however,  to  be 
sufficient.  ,,t 


178  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

As  our  space  is  limited,  we  must  come  now  to  practical 
details.  There  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  no  published  account 
of  how  children  are  taught  to  read  with  the  phonic  system 
as  a  basis,  but  with  free  use  of  "  look  and  say  "  when  desired, 
either  because  it  adds  interest  and  value  to  the  material, 
or  because  it  suits  individual  children.  This  is  my  reason 
for  proceeding  to  give  an  account  of  our  own  methods,  though 
I  am  aware  that  many  teachers  are  already  working  on  much 
the  same  lines. 

Classification  of  Sounds. — If  we  are  to  take  phonics 
as  a  basis,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  survey  our  material. 
What  we  want  is  a  working  classification  of  such  sounds, 
with  their  respective  signs,  as  must  be  grasped  before  a  child 
can  be  said  to  read.  So  long  as  he  "  cannot  tackle  new 
matter "  he  cannot  read.  It  is  clear  that  the  twenty-six 
letters  of  the  alphabet  do  not  express  the  sounds  we  use,  yet 
we  do  not  want  too  many  signs.  It  is  better  to  associate  one 
sound  with  ay,  another  with  ar,  and  another  with  aw,  than  to 
have  many  sounds  attached  to  the  letter  a.  But  we  are  not 
concerned  with  fine  shades  of  difference,  e.g.,  we  may  make 
a  difference  between  the  vowel  sounds  in  food  and  in  good, 
but  one  oo  sound  is  enough  for  practical  purposes. 

The  list  given  below  is  the  result  of  experience ;  it  has  been 
increased  and  decreased  at  various  times,  and  is  never  re- 
garded as  a  fixed  quantity.  All  are  not  necessary  for 
reading ;  ^  for  instance,  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  tell  such  un- 
reasonable words  as  would,  sight  and  brotighi.  But  we  find 
that  if  introduced  gradually,  the  children  find  spelling  less 
troublesome.  We  treat  these  as  "  look  and  say  "  words  at 
first,  but  later  we  make  families  of  igh,  otild,  and  ough  words, 
using  the  letter  names  only.  A  Scotswoman  may  be  allowed 
to  urge  that  the  difficulties  of  which  and  inic/i,  of  when  and 
went,  of  where  and  were,  do  not  exist  for  Scotch  children. 
Also,  that  if  English  children  were  trained  to  sound  the  letter 
r,  it  would  no  longer  be  impossible  to  convince  them  that  "  a 
wild  boar  "  does  not  rhyme  with  "  a  sharp  saw,"  and  is  not 
spelt  "  baw"  ;  and  they  might  even  believe  that  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  put  an  r  into  the  middle  of  "  father."  The  sound 
wa  is  borrowed  from  Miss  Dale,  and  we  do  not  always  use  it. 
If  the  children  are  to  learn  both  aw  and  wa,  one  should  be 
familiar  a  considerable  time  before  the  other  is  brought 
forward. 

*  The  less  necessary  sounds  aro  put  within  brackets. 


c  1 

d  m 


READING  AND  WRITING  179 

List  of  Sounds  and  Signs 
17  simple  and  5  double  consonants — 

b  k  t 

V 

w 

f  n  th 

g  P  sh 

h  r  ch 

j  (=  ge)  s  (=  ce)  wh 

qu 
5  snort  vowels — a,  e,  1,  6,  u. 

10-12  long  vowels,  diphthongs,  etc,  represented  by  15-25 
signs — 

a-e  =  ay  (=  ai,  ey,  ei). 
ee  =  e  -  e  =  ea. 

i  -  e  (=  y  in  by,  my,  try.  why,  and  cry), 
o  -  e  =  oa. 
{u-e  =  ew). 
ar  in  Arthur,  farm,  etc, 
00 

ow  =  ou,  in  cow  and  out. 
aw  (=  au). 
wa  in  was,  water, 
ing  (ong,  ang). 
Words  in  all,  igh,  ould,  and  ough. 

Necessity  for  Clear  Enunciation. — As  regards  the  exact 
sounds  to  be  attached  to  the  signs,  it  is  certain  that,  unless  the 
teacher  is  willing  to  take  pains,  she  had  better  use  some  such 
system  as  that  of  Sonnenschein,  with  its  at,  et,  it,  ot,  ut,  where 
consonant  and  vowel  control  each  other.  To  get  the  short 
vowels  true,  it  is  well  for  both  teacher  and  child  to  think  of  a 
word  of  which  the  required  vowel  is  the  initial.  We  generally 
use  the  words,  apple,  egg,  ink,  orange,  and  umbrella. 

The  consonants  require  quite  as  much  care  as  the  vowels. 
The  merest  breath  should  escape  with  b,  p,  t,  and  w ;  for  m 
the  mouth  can  remain  quite  closed,  and  for  /,  v,  and  s,  mouth 
and  teeth  almost  meet.  It  is  the  great  stumbling  block  to 
phonic  reading  that  the  teacher,  in  teaching  for  instance, 
the  first  sound  in  brush,  often  makes  it  sound  like  the  first 
two  letters  of  but,  so  that  when  she  really  means  to  give  the 
three  sounds  of  but,  she  very  nearly  gives  the  sounds  for  butter. 
We  find  the  direction,  "  Keep  the  sound  inside  your  mouth," 
acts  well  with  children. 


i8o  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

Miss  Dale's  plan  of  showing  the  children  how  each  sound 
is  produced  seems  too  elaborate,  and  is  unnecessary  with  small 
classes  where  children  can  learn  by  imitation.  But  in  large 
classes  it  may  be  very  helpful  in  the  case  of  consonants,  as 
the  children  at  a  distance  can  scarcely  hear  the  slight  sound. 
Still,  teachers  of  large  classes  can  pass  quickly  along  whispering 
the  sound,  and  those  who  catch  it  first  can  help  others. 

For  good  enunciation  lips  and  tongue  must  grip  to  good 
purpose,  and  children  must  learn  to  avoid  "  lazy  hps."  They 
enjoy  making  httle  explosive  sounds  with  h,  p,  t,  d,  etc.,  but 
it  is  safer,  in  giving  such  exercises,  to  deal  with  whole  words, 
such  as  cab,  cup,  cat,  red,  and  to  let  the  stress  fall  on  the  last 
letter. 

Signs  Should  have  Meaning.— One  of  our  main  objects 
is  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  giving  any  meaningless  signs. 
The  remark  that  "  single  letters  have  no  associative  power  " 
is  not  quite  true.  Most  teachers  probably  teach  the  letter  s 
by  drawing  a  hissing  snake,  and  it  is  known  to  every  one  that 
letters  are  derived  from  pictures.  The  original  pictures  are, 
of  course,  useless  in  teaching  English,  so  we  have  made  among 
us  the  following  "hieroglyphics,"  which  answer  their  purpose 
fairly  well.  Enterprising  teachers  will  prefer  to  make  their 
own,  associating  them  where  possible  with  the  immediate 
interests  of  the  children. 

Use  of  Colour  Association. — We  make  use  of  colour 
associations  to  help  the  children  to  remember  such  sounds 
as  ee,  ow  and  oo.  We  attack  the  long  sounds  in  this  way. 
It  seems  reasonable  that  if  one  e  makes  the  short  sound  e, 
two  should  make  the  long  sound  ee.  In  bringing  this  sound 
to  the  notice  of  the  children,  we  tell  them  that  it  comes  into 
the  name  of  one  of  the  colours,  then  we  name  the  colours  of 
the  chalks  in  the  box  till  a  quick  ear  catches  the  ee  in  green. 
after  which  ee  and  ea  are  always  written  in  green  chalk.  In 
the  same  way  we  use  brown  for  ow  and  ou,  and  blue  for  oo. 
The  actual  word  blue  we  fortunately  never  seem  to  want  at 
this  early  stage. 

Writing  to  go  Hand  in  Hand  with  Reading.— It  is  so 
well  known  now  that  children  learn  througli  action  that  it 
is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  mention  that  writing  should  go 
hand  in  hand  with  reading.  The  writing  is  to  have  no  pre- 
tension to  elegance,  but  is  to  be  a  childish  reproduction  of 
the  letter  or  word  put  before  the  class.  As  a  rule,  children 
express  a  desire  to  write,  before  they  wish  to  read.     The  action 


READING  AND  WRITING 


l8i 


Hieroglyphics  for  English  Children. 

t    r7=^ 


-  apple's  letter  =  (X\ 
=  .»        »•    =>  3cJ 

= brush's  letter  =D  or  u 

O  =  curl's  letter  =  C 

^3^=  duck's  letter  =  Cl 


e  = 


egg's  letter  =  6 

(Hunipty  Dumpty  broVen) 


=  feather's  letter  =  t  \ 
V  =  glasses'  letter  =  0^ 

§■  -    -  -a' 


K  ~  iey's  letter  =  K 
[C,  =  leg's  letter  =  L 
\J)  =  orange's  letter  =0 
[  =  pipe's  letter  =  D 
=  rhubarb's  letter  =T 
=  spake's  letter  =  S 

Ik 

^  =  tap's  letter  =    U 

X  =    vase's  letter  =  V 

\A/  =  wave's  letter  ^W 
'^i^i^°W  =  worm's  letter  =W 


i82  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

naturally  appeals  to  them,  and  we  usually  begin  by  teaching 
our  little  ones  the  initials  of  their  own  names.  Suppose  we 
have  a  Fred  and  a  Fanny  in  the  class,  they  are  told  that  they 
must  share  the  flower's  letter,  or  the  feather's,  as  the  case 
may  be.  The  little  picture  is  then  made  for  them  in  coloured 
chalk,  the  letter  is  traced  round  it  in  white,  and  the  children 
at  once  reproduce  both.  After  their  own  initials  come  others 
which  the  children  suggest,  e.g.,  for  father  and  mother,  for 
their  pets  at  home  or  at  school,  or  for  any  object  in  which 
they  are  specially  interested. 

Necessity  for  Revision. — These  sounds  must  not  be  pre- 
sented too  quickly,  there  must  be  abundant  revision,  and  this 
must  be  made  interesting,  and  not  a  mere  drill.  One  day 
we  may  make  the  letters  for  the  toys  in  the  toyshop,  ^oll, 
soldiers,  ba.\\,  hoop,  etc.  Another  day  we  may  take  all  the 
shops  we  know,  baker,  grocer,  (draper,  etc.,  and  we  can  follow 
this  by  the  things  sold.  Another  day  we  can  choose  animals, 
or  colours,  or  flowers.  The  choice  is  unlimited,  for  as  we 
are  deahng  only  with  the  initial  letter,  elephant  is  no  more 
difficult  than  cat  and  dog. 

One  of  our  devices  is  to  put  upon  the  blackboard  several 
examples  of  the  letters  known,  and  to  tell  the  simplest  of 
narratives,  getting  the  children  to  point  out  the  letters  as 
wanted.  For  example,  at  harvest  festival  time  the  letters 
m,  a,  c,  t,  g,  e,  p,  h  were  put  up  and  repeated  several  times. 
The  "  story  "  was  that  of  a  man,  with  a  house  and  garden  in 
the  country,  loading  his  cart  to  come  to  town.  The  children 
find  the  letters  for  man,  house,  and  cart,  then  for  all  the  things 
in  the  cart  ;  he  drops  an  apple,  and  breaks  an  egg,  and  finally 
starts.  He  can  have  all  manner  of  adventures  after  the 
fashion  of  the  old  "  I'amily  Coach."  Children  in  large  classes 
cannot  all  be  running  to  the  blackboard,  only  a  few  would  get 
the  chance ;  but  by  use  of  the  hektograph  they  can  be  supplied 
with  the  letters,  or  they  can  copy  them  quickly  from  the 
blackboard.  Then  they  can  put  a  red  mark  under  each 
letter  as  it  is  wanted.  As,  however,  children  are  no  more 
fond  of  owning  themselves  in  the  wrong  than  we  are,  it  is 
well  to  add  as  each  letter  is  pointed  out  :  "  Now,  we'll  all 
make  another."  In  a  large  class,  too,  the  children  can  have 
letters  tied  round  their  necks,  and  jump  up  and  turn  round 
as  in  the  "  Family  Coach  "  game. 

It  is  evident  that  this  and  similar  methods  of  revision  can 
be  just  as  easily  applied  to  whole  words  as  to  single  sounds. 


READING   AND  WRITING  183 

Cliildren  who  are  properly  provided  with  real  stories,  quite 
understand  the  purpose  of  this  kind  of  narrative,  wliich  they 
can  easily  help  to  construct. 

Ear  Practice. — While  the  children  are  learning  the  sounds 
and  their  signs,  we  make  use  of  a  so-called  "  guessing  game," 
which  gives  practice  in  putting  sounds  together  to  make 
words,  a  power  which  will  soon  be  wanted,  and  which  to  an 
occasional  child  is  much  more  difficult  than  finding  initial 
and  closing  letters.  The  other  children  sometimes  cry : 
"  Why,  she's  saying  the  word  all  the  time,"  but  "  she  "  may 
not  hear  it. 

The  narrator  begins  for  example  :  "  Once  there  was  a 
md-n,"  and  pauses  while  the  children  shout  "  man  " — 
"  and  he  had  a  d-o-g,"  and  so  on.  For  variety,  she  may  take 
a  picture,  and  without  showing  it  she  says  ;  "  In  this  picture 
I  see  the  sky  and  a  very  tall  t-r-ee,  and  a  httle  white  h-ou-se, 
etc.,  or  she  may  point  to  things  in  the  room  with,  "  I  can  see 
Tommy's  j-ee-t  and  Helen's  fr-o  ck  and  Jack's  h-a-n-d,  etc. 

The  teacher  is,  of  course,  not  limited  to  the  signs  the  children 
have  already  learned,  as  this  work  is  intended  to  appeal  only 
to  the  ear. 

In  order  to  find  out  how  each  child  learns,  and  so  to  give 
each  a  fair  chance,  large  classes  should  be  early  divided  and 
taught  in  sections.  Special  divisions  can  then  be  made  of 
those  who  learn  most  quickly  by  one  method  or  another. 
Instead  of  wasting  time,  this  will  save  time.  If  in  a  large 
class  there  are  certain  children  who  put  sounds  together  very 
quickly,  it  is  clearly  a  waste  of  time  for  them  to  look  on, 
while  extra  practice  of  this  kind  is  given  to  children  who,  on 
the  other  hand,  may  be  quicker  at  recognizing  words  as 
wholes.  They  would  be  better  employed  in  reading  silently, 
and  so  familiarizing  themselves  with  the  general  appearance 
of  words  which  they  can  find  out  for  themselves.  Later, 
again,  large  classes  should  be  frequently  taught  in  sections, 
because  some  children  are  certain  to  learn  much  more  quickly 
than  others.  It  is  better,  at  any  stage,  that  quick  children 
should  be  set  to  draw  pictures,  and  to  write  below,  letters, 
names,  etc.,  than  that  they  should  be  bored  and  stupefied 
with  want  of  occupation,  while  tlie  slower  children  are  taught. 
Also,  the  slower  children  will  get  more  attention.  At  the 
same  time,  the  last  thing  any  one  wants  to  do  is  to  discourage 
the  slow,  nor  is  it  desirable  to  put  conceit  into  the  heads  of 
the  others.     In  many  elementary  schools  the  quick  children 


i84  EDUCATION   BY  LIFE 

are  brought  far  too  much  to  the  front,  and  there  is  too  much 
of  the  "  clever  Httle  boy  "  atmosphere.  Children  can  be 
told  that  all  they  have  to  do  is  to  try,  and  all  effort  should  be 
recognized.  But  quick  learning  or  slow  learning  depends 
upon  "  how  your  head  is  made,"  and  some  are  quick  at  one 
thing,  some  at  another. 

As  soon  as  the  children  have  grasped  the  most  necessary 
sounds,  we  begin  to  deal  with  words.  Again,  nothing  need 
be  isolated  and  meaningless — we  need  never  deal  with  "  mere  " 
words. 

For  example,  the  children  will  be  pleased  to  draw  a  rough 
oblong  to  represent  a  toyshop  window,  and  to  put  into  the 
window  the  toy,  e.g.,  a  doll,  a  dog,  a  cat,  a  hall.  The  names 
can  be  written  either  on  or  below  the  pictures,  and  adjectives 
and  prepositions  can  be  introduced  if  the  children  write  such 
phrases  as  "  a  big  doll  with  a  hat,  a  soft  white  dog,  a  red 
baU,"  etc. 

In  a  rigidly  phonic  system  the  word  hall  would  be  excluded, 
but  common  sense  sees  no  sufficient  reason  to  include  bat 
and  exclude  ball. 

Another  day,  if  there  is  an  Arthur  in  the  class,  so  that  the 
ar  is  familiar,  the  oblong  represents  a  farm-yard,  within 
which  we  draw  all  the  animals,  pig,  dog,  cat,  hen,  cow,  sheep, 
goat  and  horse,  making  a  big  ham  on  one  side. 

Reading  Material. — For  a  long  time  we  keep  to  what  is 
commonly  known  as  blackboard  reading,  and  this  for  two 
reasons,  both  of  which  are  important.  In  the  first  place,  the 
ordinary  beginner's  reading  book  is  a  thing  to  be  avoided. 
It  is  a  thing  of  shreds  and  patches,  at  worst  a  collection  of 
inane  and  disjointed  phrases,  and  at  best  it  is  seldom  worth 
the  attention  of  an  intelligent  child. 

In  the  second  place,  the  longer  we  can  preserve  the  children 
from  near-sighted  work,  the  better  for  their  eyesight.  While 
the  reading  lesson  is  on  the  blackboard,  there  is  none  of  the 
wear  and  tear  of  "  keeping  the  place."  The  teacher's  pointer 
relieves  the  children  of  this  burden,  and  there  is  no  interference 
with  the  work  of  the  class  when  any  child  instinctively  relieves 
eye  strain,  and  nerve  strain  generall}^  by  looking  away  for  a 
few  seconds. 

Before  long  the  teacher  will  find  herself  in  a  position  to 
write  up  short  sentences  from  a  story  in  which  the  children 
are  interested,  especially  if  she  feels  herself  free  to  use  irregular 
words,  treating  them  as  wholes.     Such  words  are  underlined. 


READING  AND   WRITING  185 

and  are  understood  to  be  the  teacher's  words,  though  the 
children  may  soon  pick  them  up,  and  they  are  triumphant 
when  the  underhning  is  no  longer  necessary. 

The  examples  given  below  have  actually  been  used  with 
children.  There  is  nothing  remarkable  about  them,  but  they 
show  how,  from  a  very  early  stage,  the  reading  matter  may  be 
connected  with  real  stories  in  which  the  children  are  already 
interested. 

The  blackboard  reading  ought  to  have  pictures  as  well  as 
the  reading  book,  and  our  blackboard  is  enlivened  by  making 
ee,  00  and  ow  in  green,  blue  and  brown.  Silent  letters  are 
lightly  crossed  out,  and  diphthongs  are  linked  together. 

In  the  first  example,  there  are  no  capital  letters  except 
for  the  name  of  the  little  Eskimo  girl.  In  the  second  the 
sentences  begin  with  capitals,  and  the  word  made  is  told 
because  the  children  have  not  yet  learned  the  long  vowels. 
It  would  be  cruel  to  omit  interesting  animals  because  their 
names  are  hard,  and  the  teacher  would  put  up  any  that  the 
children  might  demand. 

Blackboard  Reading  Lessons  1 

Agoonack 

she.    had    a    soft     hood    and    soft    boots. 

she.    had     seal     skin     boots. 

seal     skin     is      broz£^n,      so     she     had     hxown 

boots. 
oux     boots     are    brow^n    too. 

The     first     Noah's     ark 

Franz     made     a     Noah's     ar'k     for     his     Httle 
sister     lAsheth. 

^  It  is  not  possible  to  represent  in  typography  and  in  black  and 
white  the  necessary  distinctions  which  the  teacher  will  make  upon  the 
blackboard  to  demonstrate  this  system.  As  remarked  above,  the 
double  vowel  sounds  ee,  oo,  and  ow  will  be  written  in  green,  blue,  and 
bro^vn  respectively  ;  diphthongs  (indicated  here  by  italics)  will  be 
linked  together  with  a  "  tie  mark,"  as  ee  or  ih  ;  silent  letters,  such  as 
the  k  in  knife  will  be  lightly  crossed  through;  and  "irregular"  words 
will  be  underlined. 


i86  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

He     made     it     of     wood. 

He     cut     tJiQ     wood     With     a     saw. 

He     put     on    a    roof     to     k^rp    o^t    the    rain. 

Wh&n     the     ark     was     made,     he     made      the 

animals. 
Part     of    the     wood     was     soft. 
He     made     the     animals     of    the     soft     wood. 
But     he     cut     them     with     his     knife. 


He  made  cozens  and  sht^^p,  dogs  and 
cats,  and  elephants  and  tigers  and  lots 
of     animals. 

Water     Babies 

Poor    Tom     was     a     sweep. 

He   had   to    go    up    the    dark,    dark  chim-neys. 

He     did     not     like     the     dark. 

The     hard    bricks     hurt     his     f^^t,      and      his 

kn^'^s. 
A    groom     came     one     day. 
He     ze^as     so     cl^an     and     smart. 
He     had     top     boots     on. 
He     said,     We     n^d^d     a     sw^^p. 
Tom     said,     I     am     a     sw^^p,     I     will     tell 

my     master     Grimes. 
Tom     had     iar    to     go. 
He     had     to     start     when     it     zi>as     dark. 
His     master    Grimes    rode     on     a     donkey. 


READING  AND  WRITING  187 

Tom     did     not     ride,     he     went     on     his     ieet, 
and     he     had     to     take     the     bag     too. 

Three     black     m^rks     on     the     table. 

Odin     made     Loki     pay     for    tJie     p/^s. 
Loki     took     thr^^     hhick     stones. 
He     put     tJiQ    black     stones     on    the     table. 
The     black     stones     made     thr^^     black    marks 

on     the     table. 
The     farmer's     wife    had     to     rub   very     hard. 
She   did     rub   and     scrub,   but     she     never   did 

rub     otit     the     black     marks. 
And     a     good    thin^    thd±    was     too. 
For     nozo     she     never     z£;ant-ed     for   any-thing. 

For  intelligent  reading  the  children  should,  as  a  rule,  have 
time  given  them  to  look  quietly  at  what  is  on  the  blackboard, 
and  if  they  cannot  tell  the  subject  for  themselves  they  should 
be  helped,  with  the  title  or  with  some  other  key  word.  But 
the  lessons  should  not  always  follow  one  plan.  To  get  repeti- 
tion without  dulness,  one  child  may  try  how  far  he  can  go 
without  help,  another  if  he  can  read  the  whole.  In  a  large 
class  a  row  of  children  may  try  instead.  Simultaneous  reading 
is  most  objectionable,  but  it  may  be  quite  necessary  to  give 
a  large  class  of  children  something  to  do.  It  need  never, 
however,  be  simultaneous  shouting,  and  it  should  not  be  the 
rule,  but  the  exception.  The  lesson  should  never  be  read  back- 
wards, A  better  way  of  ensuring  knowledge  of  words  is 
"  the  jumping  story,"  where  a  sentence  is  picked  out  from 
different  lines  by  the  teacher's  pointer.  From  lines  i,  3,  7, 
9,  4,  10,  2,  comes  the  sentence,  "  Franz  cut  the  cows  out  of 
wood." 

The  Reading  Book. — ^The  reading  book  must,  of  course, 
be  good  print,  and  it  must  be  interesting.  It  ought  to  have 
pictures  and  not  too  many  of  these,  and  it  ought  to  be  a  step 
towards  good  literature.  The  general  information  reading 
book  is  happily  out  of  date. 


i88  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

Longmans'  Infant  Fairy  Readers  are  excellent.  The 
stories  are  taken  from  Andrew  Lang's  Blue  Fairy  Book,  and 
have  the  original  illustrations.  But  they  are  hardly  easy 
enough  to  attack  at  once — a  bridge  of  some  kind  is  necessary. 
For  this  purpose  we  have  tried  all  manner  of  books,  new  and 
old,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  one  we  find  most  success- 
ful is  quite  old-fashioned  and  hopelessly  unscientific.  It  is 
a  little  book  published  by  George  Bell  &  Sons  called  Tot 
and  the  Cat.  We  only  read  two  or  three  of  the  stories,  which 
are  of  the  simplest,  but  our  children  always  enjoy  them.  We 
do  sometimes  use  Miss  Dale's  blue  primer  for  a  short  time. 
In  this  most  ingenious  series,  however,  the  matter  is  governed 
by  the  sound  about  to  be  taught,  and  consequently  there 
is  no  real  story. 

Again,  in  Miss  Dale's  books,  which  are  as  rigidly  phonic 
as  is  possible  in  our  language,  so  many  of  our  commonest 
words  have  to  be  excluded  that  a  child  has  no  chance  with 
any  ordinary  story  book,  and  that  is  discouraging. 

We  generally  read  Mrs.  Craik's  So-fat  and  Mew-mew,  but 
sometimes  we  leave  that,  which  is  also  extremely  simple, 
for  the  children's  silent  reading. 

Silent  Reading. — This  silent  reading  ought  to  be  begun 
by  degrees.  We  constantly  read  a  paragraph  "  to  ourselves 
first,"  then  one  child  can  read  it  aloud  with  tolerable  fluency 
and  some  expression.  Sometimes  the  children  read  a  para- 
graph in  silence,  and  tell  in  their  own  words  what  they  have 
read.  When  children  can  read  fluently,  abundant  time  should 
be  given  for  quiet  reading,  and  this  should  not  always  be 
followed  by  giving  an  oral  resume. 

Reading  with  Expression. — For  expressive  reading, 
there  is  nothing  like  "  conversations,"  and  we  sometimes 
block  out  the  "  he  saids,"  which  interrupt.  "  Pattern 
reading  "  is  an  unfortunate  expression,  and  if  it  means  that 
the  children  are  to  echo  what  the  teacher  does,  it  is  altogether 
bad.  But  the  teacher  ought  to  take  her  turn,  and  to  let  the 
children  hear  what  good  reading  is.  Most  children  have 
some  power  of  acting,  and  can  enter  into  the  feelings  of  the 
hero  or  heroine,  and  can  read  "  in  a  cross  voice,"  or  "  as  if 
he  was  going  to  cry,"  as  required.  But  others  need  help. 
We  sometimes  spend  a  little  time  over  selected  passages, 
picking  out  "  words  you  must  say  loud,"  noticing  lliat  our 
voices  usually  go  up  at  the  end  of  a  question  or  trying,  one 


READING  AND  WRITING  189 

after  another,  to  make  pathetic  passages  sound  so  lamentable 
that  finally  we  all  have  to  laugh. 

"  It's  gettin'  more  hke  a  story,"  said  a  bright  boy,  but 
slow  reader,  in  the  days  when  we  thought  it  our  duty  as 
teachers  "  not  to  tell  anything  the  child  can  find  out."  It 
is  by  such  unconscious  rebukes  that  the  children  show  us  our 
mistakes.  The  story  must  be  a  story  from  the  beginning. 
The  teacher  must  read  a  passage  now  and  then  if  interest 
seems  to  flag,  stopping  here  and  there  with  a  "  Now,  Jack, 
you  be  the  ogre,  and  let  us  hear  what  he  said  this  time.  We'll 
see  if  you  can  speak  in  a  big  ogre's  voice,  and  make  us  all 
shiver."  Later,  the  teacher  must  not  dominate  too  much, 
there  may  be  several  opinions  as  to  how  a  passage  ought  to 
be  rendered. 

WRITING,   SPELLING  AND    DICTATION. 

As  a  rule  far  too  much  time  and  attention  are  still  given 
to  tlie  mechanical  part  of  learning  to  write,  to  the  formation 
of  the  letters  and  to  uniformity  of  handwriting. 

There  are  three  essentials  in  good  writing.  First,  Legibility, 
for  that  means  consideration  for  other  people  ;  secondly, 
Rapidity,  for  we  live  in  a  busy  age ;  and  thirdly.  Character, 
a  quality  which  is  lost  when  such  stress  is  laid  upon  uniformity. 

If  writing  is  kept  in  proper  relation  to  reading,  the  children 
will  learn  with  the  minimum  of  boredom.  Anything  like 
pot-hooks,  an3'thing  indeed  like  the  old-fashioned  copy  book, 
is  effectually  kept  out,  if  we  are  agreed  that  children  should 
derive  the  letters  from  pictures,  and  that  once  these  are  learnt, 
they  should  only  write  words  and  sentences  which  interest. 

In  the  London  County  Council  Gazette  for  August  29, 1910,  the 
attention  of  teachers  and  managers  was  drawn  to  the  evil  effects 
of  the  ordinary  copy-book  writing  for  children  under  seven.  It 
was  pointed  out  that  the  eyes  of  young  children  are  so  con- 
structed that  "  to  see  any  object  nearer  than  a  yard  from  the 
eye  involves  much  more  strain  than  in  an  adult,"  and  that 
copy  book  writing  between  lines  or  on  squared  paper  "  leads 
to  fatigue,  discomfort  and  even  cramp,  while  the  similar  effort 
involved  in  converging  the  eyes  tend  to  produce  further 
defects."  There  is  the  further  difficulty  that  children  under 
seven  ought  not  to  be  expected  to  have  control  over  the  small 
muscles  of  the  hand,  and  therefore  ought  not  to  be  forced  to 
hold  the  pen  in   the  strained  manner  usually  prescribed. 


190  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

As  no  adult,  except  a  writing-master,  ever  holds  his  or  her 
pen  in  this  strained  manner,  it  is  hard  to  see  why  children 
should  ever  have  it  forced  upon  them. 

It  would  simplify  the  situation  to  give  up  talking  about 
copy-books  and  to  use  merely  the  term,  writing  book.  In 
these  books,  our  beginners  make  original  pictures,  with 
the  names  written  on  and  below  them,  and  later  with  short 
sentences  written  below  or  on  the  opposite  page.  Such  state- 
ments should  be  legible  to  the  little  writers  themselves,  so 
that  long  letters  must  be  long,  and  short  ones  short,  and  it 
is  also  well  to  use  one  guide  line.  We  need  not  worry  the 
children  to  keep  exactly  on  the  line,  but  it  will  prevent  such 
straggling  as  makes  the  writing  illegible.  At  first  the  letters 
should  not  be  joined,  but  wide  spaces  should  be  left  between 
the  words.  The  simplest  form  of  letter  is  best,  and  the  reading 
matter  should  be  put  on  the  blackboard  in  the  form  in  which 
the  children  are  to  reproduce  it.  The  difference  between 
writing  and  printing  letters  is  a  mere  matter  of  joining,  as 
any  one  may  see  who  will  print  such  a  word  as  past  and  then 
join  the  letters. 

Whether  the  writing  should  be  upright  or  not  is  a  matter 
of  little  importance,  but  children  understand  "  straight  up 
and  down  "  more  easily  than  a  certain  amount  of  slope. 

SPELLING  AND   DICTATION. 

As  "  pot-hooks  and  hangers  "  are  things  of  the  past,  so  are 
"  spellings."  Children  write  about  what  interests  them,  and 
between  this  and  their  reading,  they  learn  to  spell.  While 
spelling  is  considered  of  so  much  importance,  the  teacher 
must  give  it  her  serious  attention.  But  she  must  on  no 
account  make  it  a  serious  matter  to  her  children,  and  she 
must  have  endless  patience  with  everything  but  carelessness. 
It  is  very  easy,  too,  to  mistake  nervousness  for  carelessness, 
as  both  nervous  and  careless  children  have  the  same  ciy  of, 
"  Oh,  I've  made  a  mistake  !  "  the  nervous  from  excess  of  zeal 
and  the  careless  from  excess  of  haste. 

There  is  a  somewhat  extraordinary  idea  in  some  schools, 
that  because  children  ought  to  be  allowed  to  express  them- 
selves, they  should  therefore  do  written  composition  at  an 
early  age.     This,  except  for  the  talented  few,  is  a  fatal  mistake. 

If  possible,  children  should  never  see,  still  less  write,  a  mis- 
spelt word,  so  that  as  a  class  exercise  there  should  be  no 


READING   AND  WRITING  191 

written  composition  under  nine  or  ten  years  old,  and  not 
much  then.  But  there  must  be  gradual  preparation  for  this. 
So  long  as  children  have  to  think  of  the  shape  of  the  letters, 
and  of  the  spelling  of  most  of  the  words,  abundant  help  must 
be  given.  It  is  no  crime  to  forget  how  a  word  is  spelt ;  whether, 
e.g.,  the  word  house  belongs  to  the  "  cow  "  family  or  to  the 
"  mouse  "  connexion.  The  child  who  wrote  "  good  enough  " 
as  "  good  an  uf  "  was  within  her  rights.  It  is  the  words  that 
are  to  be  laughed  at,  not  the  child.  At  first  hard  words  are 
avoided,  or  told  and  repeated.  Later,  either  in  reading  or 
writing  time,  the  words  must  be  grouped,  and  associated  by 
various  devices.  Our  children  Hke  making  a  house  into  which 
they  put  all  the  words  of  one  kind,  and  nonsense  sentences 
combining  these  are  also  useful.  We  try  to  connect,  for  ex- 
ample, here,  there  and  where,  as  referring  to  place,  and  they 
and  their,  so  as  to  avoid  trouble  with  their  and  there.  Long 
ago  we  did  use  to  indulge  in  such  sentences  as,  "  The  maid 
made  the  pudding."  but  this  only  produces  the  confusion  it 
is  intended  to  avoid. 

Transcription  is  of  no  use  as  regards  spelling.  Children 
copy  quite  correctly  and  placidly  as  if  they  were  executing  a 
free-hand  drawing,  without  the  slightest  idea  of  what  they 
are  writing.  We  do  find  it  useful  to  let  them  write  out  nursery 
rhymes,  or  any  verses  they  know  well,  with  all  the  hard  words 
put  up  on  the  blackboard  in  any  order.  The  blackboard  is 
then  the  dictionary,  where  they  may  find  any  particular  word 
they  require,  but  it  must  first  be  found.  Before  the  children 
are  ready  for  this,  they  should  have  done  a  good  deal  of  work 
with  the  teacher.  It  is  difficult  to  correct  bad  spelling,  so 
the  business  of  a  teacher  is  to  prevent  it.  Our  usual  pro- 
cedure is  to  begin  by  letting  the  children  think  out  how  to 
spell  regular  words,  which  the  teacher  then  puts  on  the  board 
for  them.  Very  soon  they  require  no  help  with  common 
words.  It  is  in  these  writing  lessons  that  the  names  of  the 
letters  are  by  degrees  substituted  for  the  phonic  sound,  and 
that  the  cliildren  learn  to  spell. 

Even  young  children  are  interested  to  know  that  the  names 
Philip  and  Phyllis  come  from  Greece,  the  land  of  Perseus, 
and  that  is  why  they  do  not  begin  as  Frank  does.  They  like 
to  hear  that  English  people  used  to  sound  the  gh  in  fight, 
laugh,  brought,  etc.,  and  that  tliese  letters  are  still  pronounced 
by  the  country  folk  of  the  south  of  Scotland,  where  the  lan- 
guage has  changed  less,  and  by  the  Gernaans,  who  are  really 


192  EDUCATION    BY   LIFE 

our  cousins.  The  connexion  in  sound  between  i  and  y  comes 
under  notice  very  soon,  and  children  of  seven  to  eight  can  be 
shown  that  y  changes  to  i  when  other  letters  are  added,  e.g., 
t/iey  and  their,  or  with  the  plural  of  baby,  fairy  and  lady, 
that  we  use  the  older  spelling  of  babie,  fairie  and  ladie  for  the 
plural.  Children  love  reasons.  A  little  discussion  of  irregu- 
larities serves  to  focus  attention  on  the  difficulty  in  question, 
and  so  to  conquer  it.  Appeal  should  be  made  to  many  modes 
of  learning.  Irregularities  should  appear  on  the  blackboard 
in  coloured  chalk :  our  children  like  to  have  them  in  red  as  a 
danger  signal.  Children  should  write  hard  words  in  the  air 
as  well  as  repeat  the  letters  aloud,  and  finally  they  should  be 
free  to  ask  that  the  word  should  be  written  up  again  if  they 
have  forgotten  it. 

From  so-called  spelling  reform  long  may  we  be  preserved, 
but  may  we  also,  remembering  our  own  youth,  preserve  the 
children  from  trouble  by  intelligent  teaching  of  spelling  in 
both  reading  and  writing  lessons. 

Dictation  Properly  So-called. — Dictation  proper  has 
no  place  in  the  Infant  School,  and  generally  gets  altogether 
too  much  attention  in  the  middle  school.  If  it  were  not  begun 
so  early,  and  if  much  less  were  done,  there  would  be  less 
need  for  it,  as  the  children  would  be  guarded  from  writing, 
that  is,  from  teaching  themselves  mis-spellings  and  other  bad 
habits. 

Dictation  ought  to  be  more  than  a  mere  exercise  to  test 
spelling.  It  ought  to  prepare  for  two  things  :  {a)  for  the 
intelligent  expression  in  writing  of  one's  own  thought,  and 
[b)  for  the  intelligent  taking  of  notes.  An  educated  adult 
notes  down  briefly  the  gist  of  a  lecturer's  thought,  and  any 
statistics,  etc.,  difficult  to  remember.  The  uneducated  note- 
taker  tries  to  get  down  all  the  lecturer  says,  with  the  result 
that  no  thought  is  committed  to  paper,  merely  unintelligible 
scraps. 

In  dictation  lessons,  attention  should  be  concentrated  on 
the  thought  to  be  expressed,  and  this  is  impossible  until 
children  can  write  with  ease.  They  cannot  at  one  moment 
hold  within  "  the  focus  of  consciousness "  the  formation  of 
letters,  the  spacing  of  words,  the  use  of  capitals  and  the  spelling 
of  every  other  word.  Everything,  however,  comes  by  degrees, 
and  from  one  point  of  view  every  writing  lesson  should  be 
a  dictation  lesson.  While  the  children  arc  being  helped  to 
write  their  own  httle  statements,  nursery  rhymes  and  other 


READING  AND   WRITING  193 

familiar  verses,  or  popular  sayings  and  rhymes  about  weather, 
months  and  seasons,  they  are  learning  the  use  of  capitals,  of 
full  stops,  commas,  question  marks,  and  "  crying  out  marks." 

To  take  an  example,  if  we  get  stormy  weather  late  in 
February,  the  children  like  to  repeat  :  "  March  comes  in 
hke  a  Hon  and  goes  out  like  a  lamb."  Our  children  of  seven 
and  a  half  require  practically  no  help  in  writing  this,  only  a 
question  or  two  by  way  of  reminder,  e.g.,  "  Tell  me  the  first 
thing  you  are  going  to  write  about  March,  What  have  you 
to  remember  about  the  namics  of  months  ?  Does  every  one 
remember  how  to  spell  come  ?  "  When  the  half  is  safely 
written  comes,  "  What  comes  next  ?  Who  knows  which 
word  has  a  silent  letter  ?  Say  over  the  words.  Now  write." 
If  the  httle  help  of  dividing  the  piece,  and  making  the  children 
repeat  what  they  are  going  to  write,  is  not  given,  half  the 
class  at  that  age  may  transpose  lion  and  lamb. 

With  children  still  younger,  the  lesson  is  quite  different, 
e.g.,  "If  we  are  going  to  write  about  March,  we  must  know 
how  to  spell  it.  Who  has  a  birthday  in  March  ?  Can  you 
write  it  ?  Sound  it  first,  and  I  will  write  it  up  for  you.  What 
two  letters  make  the  sound  ar  and  ch  ?  Big  people  always 
write  the  names  of  the  months  with  a  capital  letter  hke  this. 
Make  it  in  the  air.  Now  all  write  March  on  your  practice 
papers.  '  March  comes  in  like  a  lion.'  Some  one  spell  lion 
just  as  it  sounds,  in  the  two  pieces  li-on.  Now  all  write  that  on 
your  papers.  '  Comes  '  is  a  hard  word ;  here  it  is  ;  how  ought 
we  to  sound  it  ?  Yes,  hke  combs  and  brushes  !  Write  it 
in  the  air.  Look  !  I  am  making  the  e  red,  so  that  you  won't 
leave  it  out.  Look  at  it  again.  Can  you  see  it  when  you 
shut  your  eyes  ?  Can  you  write  it  if  I  rub  it  out  ?  Be  quite 
sure.  Now  say  all  together,  '  March  comes  in  like  a  lion.' 
Here  is  the  word  like — I  will  leave  it  up  on  the  board  for  you. 
Now  write  these  words  on  practice  paper,  and  I  shall  write 
it  on  the  board.  Has  any  one  made  a  mistake — no  ?  then 
put  it  into  your  books  tidily,  make  a  neat  little  comma 
stop,  and  we  will  finish  it  to-morrow." 

Next  day  the  children  will  read  what  they  have  written, 
will  shut  their  e3'es  and  spell  the  words,  and  then  finish  the 
saying.  Little  has  been  done,  but  something  has  been  gained ; 
and  let  us  hope  no  mis-.spelling  has  been  allowed  to  make  a 
mental  picture  difficult  to  obliterate. 

As  the  children  grow  older,  the  amount  to  be  written,  the 
difficulties  to  be  tackled,  must  be  properly  graded.     Always, 

o 


194  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

the  children  should  know  at  least  the  general  drift  of  the 
subject  about  which  they  are  writing,  and  should  be  made 
responsible  for  keeping  in  mind  some  intelligent  sentence  or 
phrase.  At  first  this  should  be  repeated  immediately  before 
writing.  The  unintelligent  parrot  cry  of,  "  What  comes 
after  March  ?  what  comes  after  winds  ?  "  etc.,  of  word-at-a- 
time  dictation,  should  never  even  make  its  appearance  in  a 
well-conducted  classroom. 

With  older  children,  who  no  longer  write  for  the  pleasure 
of  writing,  as  children  do  to  whom  it  is  a  newly  acquired  power, 
dictation  requires  a  motive.  All  children  enjoy  making 
collections,  and  the  dictation  book  may  show  a  variety. 
Different  quotations  dealing  with  one  subject,  a  collection  of 
folklore  rhymes,  of  proverbs  from  different  countries,  good 
passages  of  poetry  worth  keeping  and  worth  learning — all 
these  will  serve  the  important  purpose  of  enabling  children 
to  write  their  own  language  with  ease,  quite  as  well  as  odd 
sentences  from  a  reading  book,  while  at  the  same  time  they 
have  a  value  in  themselves. 

To  sum  up,  intelhgent  understanding  is  the  root  of  every- 
thing, and  interest  is  the  growing  point.  It  is  never  diffi- 
culty but  boredom  that  saps  the  energy  of  a  child. 

E.  R,   Murray. 

BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE 

How  to  Teach  Reading.  G.  Stanley  Hall,  Ph.D.  (D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.) 
The    Psychology    and   Pedagogy    of   Reading.     Edmund    Huey,    A.M., 

Ph.D.     (The  Macmillan  Co.) 
Genetic  Psychology.     C.  H.  Judd,  Ph.D.     (Appleton  &  Co.) 

A  SUGGESTED  SERIES  OF  READING  BOOKS 

The  Three  Little  Pigs.     Longmans'  New  Fairy  Tale  Readers  for  In- 
fants. 
Jack  and  the  Beanstalk. ")  ^  ,         ,  .       _      , 

Snowdrop.  )  Longman  s  Infant  Fairy  Readers. 

So-fat  and  Mew  Mew  at  Home.  ")  _  -q-,,         ,  t? 

So-fat  and  Mew  Mew  away  from  Home.  S  '^""^^^  ^"^  l-arran. 
Little  Red  Riding  Hood,  etc.  \  Longmans'  Supplementary  Readers,  for 
Cinderella,  etc.  3      Standard  I. 

RTbTnsofrCrL^e^'"'°"'  }  ^^^P*^^  ^^  ^^^^h  Robarts     (Cassell  &  Co.) 
Hearts   of  Oak  Books.     Parts   II   and   III.      (Heath   &   Co.) 
Legends  of  Greece  and  Rome.     (Harrap  &  Co.) 
The  Junior  Temple  Reader.     (Horace  Marshall  &  Son.) 


SUGGESTIONS  AS  TO  THE  BASIS  OF 
HISTORY  TEACHING 

Before  considering  early  methods  of  teaching  history,  we 
must  know  what  we  mean  by  the  term  "history";  and  it  then 
remains  for  us  to  decide  whether  any  activities  in  this  direc- 
tion are  advisable,  as  well  as  possible,  for  young  children.  Such 
activities  will  not  be  advisable  unless  they  are  just  those 
which  in  themselves  best  serve  towards  development  at  this 
stage.  If  only  our  knowledge  of  young  children  were  ade- 
quate, the  question  should  ideally  be — not,  "  How  are  we  to 
teach  this  or  that  subject  ?  "  but — "  What  activities  best 
further  wholesome  development  ?  "  We  could  then  satisfy 
ourselves,  as  a  later  and  less  important  matter,  as  to  how 
these  experiences  and  activities  bear  upon  any  future  specific 
study.  For  the  end  of  the  whole  process  is  life,  not  "  sub- 
jects." 

Yet  our  knowledge  of  the  psychology  of  children  is  in  its 
early  stages,  and  we  are  not  in  a  position  to  make  a  clean  sweep 
of  all  the  old  landmarks. 

Originally  an  investigation  of  any  kind,  a  "  record  of  facts 
on  which  to  base  principles,"  the  term  history  was  restricted 
to  mean  a  record  of  the  past  of  mankind  "  as  organized  into 
communities,"  and  thence  it  has  been  defined  as  "the  bio- 
graphy of  pohtical  societies."  Therefore,  until  lately,  when 
a  deeper  conception  of  the  substance  and  function  of  history 
has  arisen,  the  subject  matter  of  most  histories  has  been  the 
story  of  pohtical  institutions,  governments,  and  dynasties. 
If  the  treatment  of  men  as  grouped  into  governments  were 
the  characteristic  mark  of  history,  then  indeed  the  subject 
would  be  entirely  removed  from  the  understanding  and 
interest  of  children  of  any  age. 

Yet  even  the  "biography  of  pohtical  societies"  involves 
more  than  may  appear  at  first  ;  for  political  societies  have 
their  origin  in  the  needs  and  aspirations  of  the  men  and  women 


196  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

who  compose  them,  and  for  whom  they  exist.  They  remain 
vital  and  interesting  only  so  long  as  their  connexion  with  such 
needs  and  aspirations  is  clearly  felt.  So  that,  taking  even 
this  restricted  meaning  of  history,  the  foundation  of  any 
fruitful  study  of  pohtical  societies  would  he  in  a  vivid  realiza- 
tion of  the  hfe  and  needs  out  of  which  they  arose,  and  of  their 
present  relation  to  such  hfe.  Without  this,  any  study  of 
them  could  only  result  in  mere  pedantry. 

But  the  province  of  history  is  otherwise  defined.  Professor 
Withers  gives  as  its  subject  and  aim  :  "  An  explanation  of 
the  essential  facts  and  forces  in  the  condition  of  mankind,  as 
it  now  is,  and  has  been  in  the  past :  an  explanation  which 
should  serve  to  put  man  into  intelhgent  relation  with  the 
community  of  which  he  is  a  member;  "  such"  intelhgent  rela- 
tion "  involving  ultimately,  we  assume,  ethical  standards 
and  moral  conduct.  It  is  in  some  such  explanation  and  aim 
as  this  that  we  must  look  for  the  key  to  any  possible  work 
in  the  direction  of  history  with  young  children. 

The  phrase,  "  essential  facts  and  forces,"  gives  very  wide 
scope  to  the  subject ;  such  facts  and  forces  are  numerous, 
varied,  and  complex.  They  include  matters  of  the  inward 
and  outward  life  of  man  ;  matters  that  are,  each  of  them,  the 
subject  of  separate  and  specific  study,  such  as  geography, 
economics,  sociology,  physiology,  psychology.  But  some  of 
the  most  fundamental  and  insistent  of  the  facts  and  forces, 
the  permanent  needs  which  give  rise  to  effort,  are  within  the 
experience  of  children,  and  are  interesting  to  them. 

It  may,  at  first  sight,  seem  absurd  to  assert  that  the  play 
of  little  children  can  have  anything  to  do  with  history.  Yet 
all  social  play  and  games,  so  far  as  they  are  alive  with  the 
children's  imaginative  and  emotional  activity,  games  about 
home,  about  father  and  mother's  work,  about  a  train  jour- 
ney, the  postman,  the  milkman,  shop-keeping,  the  policeman 
or  the  farmer,  the  blacksmith — such  games  may,  and  should, 
vitalize  the  sense  of  social  relationship,  and,  guided  by  the 
teacher,  lead  naturally  to  a  deeper  understanding  and  realiz- 
ation of  some  of  the  "  facts  and  forces "  and  inter-con- 
nexions of  our  life  to-day. 

Of  course  it  is  lamentably  possible  to  impose  operations 
on  children  from  without,  under  the  title  of  games ;  and  to 
drown,  in  a  gulf  of  boredom,  all  enthusiasm  for  what 
they  represent.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  for  a  teacher 
whose  heart  and  mind  are  aUve  to  the  relationships  involved. 


THE   BASIS  OF  HISTORY  TEACHING  197 

and  to  the  significance  of  such  small  beginnings,  to  encourage 
interest,  to  stimulate  curiosity,  observation  and  sympathy, 
by  means  of  questions  and  suggestions  ;  and  also  to  arouse 
the  sense  of  mutual  dependence  and  mutual  service,  in  even 
the  simplest  of  such  games.  The  children  and  teacher  would 
together  construct  them  out  of  the  actual  experience  and 
observation  of  the  class,  extended  by  anything  suitable  which 
the  teacher  can  contribute. 

This  is  at  any  rate  one  way  in  which  the  children's  interest 
in  those  activities  of  others  that  have  reference  to  themselves 
may  well  be  vivified  and  expressed  ;  and  this  gradual  widening 
out  of  interest,  from  the  personal  centre  to  more  distant 
relationships,  may  reasonably  be  said  to  be  a  good  basis  for  the 
study  of  history  in  the  sense  defined  by  Professor  Withers. 

When  sufficient  dexterity  allows,  rough  models,  made  and 
equipped  by  the  children,  may  greatly  assist  in  this  imagina- 
tive play,  and  further  widen  the  sense  of  "  give  and  take  " 
among  workers.  A  miniature  house  can  be  made  and  fur- 
nished; also  models  of  places  and  objects  of  greatest  interest 
to  the  children  in  their  immediate  neighbourhood,  such  as  the 
fire  station,  the  railway  station,  a  shop,  or  a  farmyard  and 
blacksmith's  shop. 

The  models  chosen  would  depend  entirely  on  the  experi- 
ences of  the  children,  and  probably  no  two  classes  would  have 
just  the  same.  At  this  stage  outward  resemblance  is  enough  ; 
until  children  begin  to  be  more  keen  to  know  "  how  things 
work,"  such  objects  are  merely  tools  for  the  imagination. 
There  should  be  no  attempt  to  make  them  very  neat  or  care- 
fuhy  finished,  nor  need  there  be  great  exactness  about  the 
proportional  size  of  the  objects.  The  kind  of  model  that 
pleases  the  uninitiated  visitor  may,  educationally  speaking, 
merely  cumber  the  ground.  The  greater  the  resourcefulness 
the  children  show  in  adapting  any  material  they  possess  for 
their  purpose  the  better,  however  odd  the  appearance  of  the 
result.  And  while  it  is  possible  to  make  the  work  of  little 
children  too  large,  the  commoner  fault  still  is  to  make  it  too 
small.  It  is  as  well  to  avoid  laying  disproportionate  stress 
on  the  feminine  element,  and  to  dismiss  the  term  "  doll's 
house  "  ;  for  the  word  "  doll  "  stiJl  refers,  in  the  minds  of  many 
children,  to  a  petticoated  being,  in  whom  a  man  child  has  no 
part  or  lot. 

Such  activities  may  increase  dexterity,  and  evoke  inventive- 
ness :    they  should  necessitate  more  observation  of  the  appear- 


igS  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

ance  and  uses  of  things,  and  of  the  function  of  workers  in  and 
around  the  home,  and  thus  should  have  a  direct  bearing  on 
an  understanding  of  the  community.  Their  effectiveness  in 
the  direction  of  history  is  to  be  judged  by  the  amount  and 
quahty  of  imaginative  activity  and  interested  observation 
and  inquiry  to  which  they  give  rise ;  and  by  the  degree  in 
wliich  they  in  that  way  deepen  and  widen  the  sense  of  social 
relationship  and  interdependence. 

This  encouragement  of  the  children's  imaginative  activity, 
in  connexion  with  their  immediate  surroundings,  should  be 
supplemented  by  the  wonder-world  of  legend,  fairy  tale  and 
folklore,  which  constitute  man's  earliest  explanation  of  himself 
and  his  surroundings,  and  in  which  some  teachers  have  there- 
fore seen  the  only  true  starting-point  of  history  teaching. 
The  sense  of  a  world  of  mystery,  of  endless  possibilities,  of 
marvellous  things  round  us,  but  hidden  from  our  eyes,  of 
great  reward  for  great  endeavour;  these,  and  many  other 
matters  of  human  experience,  are  depicted  in  such  stories, 
in  just  the  concrete  form  and  with  just  those  glowing  colours 
which  appeal  to  the  children  and  give  fitting  shape  to  their 
vague  hopes  and  intuitions.  Too  exclusive  employment  of 
the  imagination  on  actual  experience  might  tend  to  develop 
the  type  of  mind  which  leaves  no  room  in  its  philosophy  for 
factors  it  cannot  fully  understand  and  measure.  Such  an 
attitude  would  belittle  history  ;  great  movements  have  often 
been  started  by  great  personalities  who  cannot  be  explained 
on  such  terms ;  and  the  sense  of  the  possibility  of  daring  and 
wonderful  personal  achievement  is  one  of  the  many  gains  to 
be  derived  from  myths  and  legends. 

After  the  supremely  imaginative  stage  is  passed,  boys  and 
girls  inquire  more  frequently,  "Is  it  true  ?  "  They  are 
keen  about  the  "how  and  why"  of  things  round  them  in 
the  actual  world,  which  teems  for  them  with  things  to  be 
"  found  out."  "  The  world  is  so  full  of  a  number  of  things." 
In  this  transition  stage  those  lei;ends  and  stories  on  the 
borderline  between  myth  and  history — such  as  the  tales  of 
Greek  heroes  and  the  story  of  Hiawatha — are  apt  to  please 
them  most. 

At  this  stage,  when  children  are  no  longer  content  with  toys 
as  mere  resemblances,  and  begin  to  inquiie  more  persistently 
"  how  they  work,"  there  are  difficulties  in  continuing  to  base 
their  practical  activities  exclusively  on  their  actual  sur- 
roundings.    The  explanation  of  to-day's  social  and  industrial 


THE  BASIS  OF   HISTORY  TEACHING  199 

processes  is  a  hopelessly  complex  matter.  If,  for  instance,  the 
children  try  to  build  a  miniature  house,  with  bricks  and  mor- 
tar, after  watching  the  building  of  one  in  the  neighbourhood, 
they  must  use  prepared  material,  ready-made  bricks,  prepared 
wood ;  and  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  trace  very  far  back  the 
ramifications  and  relationships  of  our  complicated  industries 
The  whole  thing  is  too  complex.  This  is  no  argument  against 
basing  occupations  on  their  immediate  surroundings — ex- 
plaining through  their  activities,  to  some  extent,  the  how  and 
the  why  of  processes,  and  the  part  contributed  by  different 
workers  ;  but  it  suggests  to  us  the  wisdom  of  beginning,  as 
well,  to  build  up  from  simpler  times  and  conditions.  For 
though  these  may  be  remote  in  time,  they  are  in  many  ways 
nearer  to  the  understanding  of  the  children.  But  whether 
the  children  are  occupied  with  a  cave  man  or  with  the  police- 
man round  the  corner,  the  result  of  their  activity  should  be 
to  make  life  to-day  a  little  more  interesting  and  intelligible. 

If,  then,  it  is  advisable  to  begin  in  both  ways,  we  could  start 
at  the  one  end  with  a  somewhat  continuous  and  progressive 
course  of  lessons,  showing  how  men  in  early  times  provided 
themselves  with  necessities  ;  and  at  the  other  with  activities 
and  stories  connected  directly  with  to-day. 

The  first  courses  would  contain  much  doing  and  httle 
talking — on  the  part  of  the  teacher  ;  such  talking  taking  the 
form  perhaps  of  a  story  to  supply  connexion  and  personal 
.interest,  and  of  questions  and  suggestions  that  may  arouse 
the  children's  thought  and  inventiveness.  Ideas  as  to  the 
best  ways  of  doing  things  would  be  elicited  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  children,  who  may,  with  unprepared  material  when 
this  can  be  found,  make  models  of  such  things  as  dwellings, 
primitive  weapons,  tools,  and  utensils,  e.g.,  baskets,  pottery, 
and  specimens  of  rough  spinning  and  weaving.  In  such  a 
course  of  lessons,  by  story,  occupation,  discussion  and  dra- 
matic play,  the  need  for  combining  for  hunting  and  defence, 
and  for  the  production  of  necessaries,  can  be  brought  out ;  and 
also  even  the  need  for  law. 

It  would  be  possible  to  take  different  types  of  "  early  man," 
making  the  kind  of  home  or  shelter  the  central  idea  ;  to  begin 
with  those  who  used  ready-made  shelter— trees,  caves,  pits, 
etc.,  and  ate  ready  made  food  ;  and  then  to  take  lake  dwel- 
lers, makers  of  huts  of  different  kinds,  tent  men,  and  finally 
more  settled  people.  It  might  also  be  possible  to  make  the 
children  see  something  of  the  importance  of  the  domestication 


200  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

of  animals  and  of  the  introduction  of  agriculture.  It  would 
be  necessary  to  avoid  carefully  the  idea  of  any  rigid  sequence 
in  the  order  of  time  :  almost  all  these  types  of  primitive  people 
are  represented  in  the  world  to-day. 

There  is  now  quite  a  store  of  ingenious  books,  some  of  them 
compiled  with  strict  attention  to  the  latest  research,  which 
tell  the  probable  life  of  such  people  in  the  form  of  stories. 
Such  books  are  invaluable  for  the  suggestion  they  offer  as  to 
the  method  of  presentment,  and  may  otherwise  be  of  great 
use.  But  they  are  not  meant  to  be  the  sole  authority  for  the 
teacher.  The  attempt  to  base  a  course  of  lessons  on  such 
slender  material  alone  can  only  result  in  wrong  emphasis,  and 
in  hopeless  thinness.  The  teachers  will  inevitably  rush  in 
with  their  positive  statements  where  the  antiquaries  fear 
to  tread.  Before  beginning  such  a  course,  or  any  part  of  it, 
some  time  should  be  given  to  the  study  of  what  is  actually 
known  by  antiquaries  and  ethnologists  about  primitive  peoples 
of  long  ago  and  to-day.  Weapons,  relics,  utensils,  etc.,  should 
be  seen  in  museums.  If  nothing  farther  can  be  done,  there 
are  at  least  such  possible  and  easy  beginnings  as  Clodd's 
Childhood  of  the  World,  Piimitive  Man,  and  the  Origin  of  In- 
ventions (Contemporary  Science  Series).  A  short  list  of 
books  useful  to  teachers  for  this  side  of  the  work  is  appended. 
If  we  would  prevent  this  work  of  the  children  from  being 
merely  hand  work,  we  must  to  some  extent  reconstruct  the 
past  for  ourselves.  The  interest  we  convey  is  the  interest  we 
feel,  and  interest  depends  partly  on  knowledge.  Acquaint- 
ance with  the  latest  method,  or  even  psychological  under- 
standing of  the  children,  cannot  make  up  for  lack  of  know- 
ledge of  the  subject  in  hand. 

Some  teachers  will  probably  prefer  to  attempt  something 
far  less  ambitious ;  to  take,  perhaps,  one  or  more  stories  which 
deal  with  the  dawn  of  civilization,  such  as  the  legend  of  Hia- 
watha, or  the  story  of  Joseph,  and  to  work  out  in  connexion  all 
possible  forms  of  primitive  industries.  Or  again  such  work 
can  be  centred  solely  round  some  imaginary  early  people  of 
our  own  land  ;  but  here  again  a  good  deal  of  study  will  be 
needful.  The  course  is  of  less  importance  than  the  way  in 
which  it  is  worked  out. 

Any  such  work,  well  done,  should  have  several  results  in 
the  direction  of  history.  It  should  give  a  sense  of  contrast  and 
of  great  changes  brought  about  by  man's  effort  ;  and  it  should 
deepen  the  children's  ialerest  in  their  actual  su^uundln-^,. 


THE  BASIS  OF  HISTORY  TEACHING  201 

For  however  interested  the  children  may  be  in  early  man, 
the  happenings  and  the  people  of  to-day  captivate  their  atten- 
tion as  their  intelligence  develops.  Therefore  it  seems  that 
we  miss  valuable  opportunities  if  we  do  not  also  begin  at  our 
own  end  of  the  story  of  man,  with  activities,  explanations  and 
tales  that  arise  from  the  children's  most  vivid  passing  in- 
terests, and  from  the  objects  and  events  and  occupations  in 
their  immediate  neii^hbourhood ;  or  with  stories  suggested  by 
anniversaries  of  events  they  can  understand.  This  kind  of 
work  will  depend  entirely  on  the  environment  of  the  children, 
and  may  be  more  or  less  haphazard  :  but,  again,  it  should 
succeed  in  rendering  more  vivid  and  intelligent  their  interest 
in  the  life  of  to-day,  and  should  afford  opportunities  of  con- 
necting the  present  with  the  past. 

When  the  children  care  chiefly  for  true  stories — by  which 
time  they  will  possibly  be  able  to  read  easily — selected  tales 
from  different  ages  and  countries,  describing  stirring  events 
and  interesting  people,  and  well  illustrated,  will  be  most 
valuable.  If  there  be  books  with  such  stories  "  vividly  told  " 
and  pictures  "  speakingly  drawn,"  they  will  at  the  same  time 
delight  the  children,  and  provide  those  "  vivid  centres  of 
association,"  the  development  of  which  Arnold  considered 
to  be  the  object  of  history  teaching  with  young  children. 

Clearly  the  subject  is  immense,  and  the  possible  lines  of 
work  bewilderingly  manifold ;  and  dogmatism  must  be 
avoided  even  if  the  alternative  be  some  indefiniteness.  Very 
divergent  lines  of  activity  may  have  equally  good  results,  if 
the  natural  interests  and  powers  of  the  children  and  the  sub- 
stance and  aim  of  history  in  its  deeper  significance  be  kept 
in  mind. 

So  long  as  she  is  guided  by  right  principles  and  aims,  the 
more  freedom  a  capable  teacher  has  to  follow  the  paths  that 
most  appeal  to  her,  the  better  both  for  her  and  the  children. 

C.  E.  Legg. 


BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE  ON  PRIMITIVE  MAN 

Article  on  "  Primitive  Man  "  in  Encyclopcedia  Britannica. 
The  Story  of  Primitive  Man.     Clodd. 
The  Childhood  of  the   World.     Clodd.     (Kcgan  Paul.) 
Tylor's   Anthropology.     (Macmillan.) 

Man   before   Metals.     Joly.     (International   Scientific   Scries,    5s.) 
The  Place  of  Industries  in  Elementary  Education.     Dopp.     (University 
of  Chicago  Press,  5s.) 


202  EDUCATION  BY  LIFE 

From  Stone  to  Steel.     A  Handbook  to  Horniman's  Museum.     (P.  S. 

King  &  Sons,  ^d.) 
Cave-hunting.     Boyd    Dawkins.     (Macmillan.) 
The  Industrial  and  Social  History  Series.     [The  Tree  Dwellers,  Early 

Cave   Men,   Later    Cave    Men,    Tent    Dwellers.      Depp.      2S.    td. 

each.) 
Days  before  History.     H.  R.  Hall.     (Harrap,  is.) 


SUGGESTIONS  AS  TO  THE  BASIS  OF 
GEOGRAPHY  TEACHING 

Geography  is  an  aspect  of  life  which  should  arise  naturally 
and  almost  imperceptibly  out  of  earlier  and  simpler  interests, 
e.g.,  nature  work  on  the  one  hand,  and  literature  on  the 
other,  for  it  is  concerned  with  the  relationship  between  the 
world  of  animate  (and  later  inanimate)  things  and  the  hfe  of 
man.  It  is  very  often  difficult  at  this  point  to  separate  it 
from  certain  aspects  of  history  and  nature  study,  nor  is  it 
always  wise  to  attempt  to  do  so  in  the  earlier  stages. 

To  establish  a  basis  on  realities  it  is  necessary  to  find  out 
which  aspects  or  relationships  of  hfe  first  awaken  a  child's 
geographical  sense,  as  something  rather  apart  from  the  separ- 
ate interests  which  have  been  referred  to.  This  will  largely 
depend  on  the  actual  locality  of  a  child's  home.  If  he  lives 
in  the  country  the  first  appeal  may  be  the  sky:  most  children 
wonder  where  the  sun  goes  at  night,  and  this  is  especially  the 
case  in  the  short  winter  days  when  they  can  see  it  both  rise 
and  set  ;  the  shadows  of  objects,  and  especially  those  cast  by 
themselves,  are  a  constant  interest  ;  probably  the  sundial 
would  make  a  more  effective  appeal  to  children's  sense  of 
time,  and  its  dependence  on  the  sun's  movements  for  measure- 
ment, than  does  the  ordinary  clock.  Then  the  night  sky, 
with  the  more  apparent  movements  of  the  moon,  and  tiie 
glowing  and  twinkling  of  the  stars,  arouses  a  sense  of  wonder 
and  awe,  that  should  keep  the  geography  sense  from  ever 
becoming  a  matter  of  mere  materialism  and  fact.  That  there 
is  so  much  more  to  discover  than  any  one  has  yet  discovered 
is  the  right  intellectual  aspect  to  keep  constantly  before  a 
child,  and  in  this  subject  many  opportunities  occur.  The 
friendly  face  of  the  moon  brings  a  kind  of  personal  relation- 
ship to  this  side  of  the  subject.  "  I  raced  the  moon  one  night. 
but  he  always  won,"  said  one  child.     "  One  of  the  curious 


204  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

things  is  that  you  can  see  the  moon  in  half,  but  never  the  sun 
in  half,"  said  another  child. 

It  is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  astonishment  to  themselves 
when  children  discover  the  moon  in  the  sky  during  the  day. 
All  this  side  of  the  subject,  and  the  interest  and  speculation 
it  arouses,  are  too  important  to  be  ignored. 

The  shapes  of  clouds,  too,  excite  that  curious  and  constant 
desire  in  children  to  find  relationships  and  resemblances.  To 
see  a  rainbow  is  an  event  to  be  remembered. 

Besides  the  sky,  the  country  child  is  often  stirred  by  the 
feeling,  only  to  be  described  as  "  far-offness,"  which  most 
people  experience  in  connexion  with  a  distant  landscape, 
especially  if  there  are  hills  on  the  horizon  :  even  in  adult  life 
one  feels  that  there  is  a  most  desirable  country  in  the  distance 
which  one  never  reaches,  and  many  children  have  been  known 
to  construct  quite  a  world  of  their  own  out  of  that  possible 
country.  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  had  this  sense  very  strongly 
aroused  by  a  small  river,  down  which  he  sailed  his  paper  boats, 
and  also  by  climbing  a  rather  high  tree,  which  gave  him  a 
view  he  had  not  experienced  before. 

In  the  case  of  town  children  probably  the  idea  of  the  train 
or  station  corresponds  to  the  "  far  oi'f  "  feeling  of  the  landscape 
in  quite  another  way.  They  are  often  taken  on  long  or  short 
journeys,  and  this  is  of  course  the  best  possible  introduction 
to  geography.  A  Russian  lady  is  reported  to  have  said  to  her 
little  boy,  "  When  you  wish  to  learn  geography  acquaint  the 
coachman,  and  he  will  take  you  wherever  you  desire  to  go." 
This  is  geography  in  its  extremest  sense.  They,  too,  have 
the  sky  in  a  more  limited  degree,  and  much  can  be  done  by 
shadows.  To  compensate  for  the  rather  "  earth "  side  of 
geography  of  the  country  child,  the  town  child  constantly 
sees  strange  and  foreign  goods,  fruit,  pictures,  furniture, 
ornaments  and  sometimes  people.  It  is  not  uncommon  for 
London  children  to  see  Japanese,  Turks,  Chinese,  Hindus 
in  native  dress,  going  about  the  streets.  Foreign  children 
frequently  come  to  school,  especially  in  such  districts  as 
Deptford  and  Whitechapel.  And  there  is  hardly  a  child  in 
town  or  country  that  has  not  a  relative  or  acquaintance  in  a 
distant  land.  Children  of  the  British  Isles,  with  its  colonies 
and  dependencies,  should,  more  than  most  children,  have  this 
network  of  geographical  realities.  The  weather  is,  of  course, 
of  general  interest,  though  more  carefully  regarded  by  the 
country  child,  to  whose  welfare  it  matters  more.     The  early 


THE  BASIS   OF  GEOGRAPHY  TEACHING       205 

love  of  adventure  appeals  to  all.  Robinson  Crusoe  has  done 
more  for  the  beginnings  of  geography  than  many  so-called 
geographers. 

Both  town  and  country  children  see  the  beginnings  of  trade 
and  commerce  in  the  work  around  them  ;  the  town  child  in 
any  industry  that  might  be  carried  on  in  his  neighbourhood, 
and  the  country  child  in  farming. 

Up  to  this  point  we  have  merely  gathered  together  those 
aspects  of  a  child's  surroundings  which  form  the  natural  basis 
of  geographical  work,  and  considered  the  way  in  which  they 
affect  his  natural  interests.  It  is  evident  that  in  doing  this 
we  must  deal  with  each  school  individually.  Much  of  the 
subject  matter  varies,  though  some  background  is  common 
to  all,  such  as  the  sky  and  the  weather,  but  in  many  cases  the 
choice  of  special  conditions,  and  surroundings,  and  possibly 
material,  is  dependent  on  the  special  industries  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood. 

The  systematic  study  of  geography  is  best  postponed  to  a 
stage  of  mental  development  later  than  that  considered  in 
this  volume  ;  but  preparatory  lessons  may  be  undertaken, 
and  are  very  desirable  in  order  to  foster  and  fomiulate  to  some 
extent  those  interests  awakened  earlier,  which  have  just  been 
considered.  As  the  subject  matter  throughout  the  whole  ol 
the  course  should  be  preparatory  to  further  work,  it  is  abso- 
lutely essential  that  the  teacher  should  have  an  adequate 
knowledge  of  the  main  principles  of  scientific  geography  in 
order  to  make  a  wise  selection  and  to  present  the  matter  in  a 
useful  way.  She  must  therefore  be  familiar  both  with  the 
elements  of  physical  geography,  and  also  with  the  way  in 
which  the  physical  conditions  influence  human  life.  It  is 
always  dangerous  to  select  or  simplify  matter  with  any  but  a 
full  and  certain  background  of  knowledge. 

The  material  may  be  variously  regarded  as  :  (i)  general 
observations  of  phenomena  and  forces  ; 

(2)  that  dealing  with  immediate  surroundings  and  the 
homeland  generally ; 

(3)  that  dealing  with  other  countries. 

(i)  With  regard  to  weather  observations  they  might  deal 
with     (a)    the    air,    e.g.,   whether    clear,   misty    or    foggy  ; 

(b)  the  clouds,  e.g.,  whether  light  and  fleecy,  or  heavy  and 
dark ;    whether  over  part  of  the  sky  or  quite  covering  it  ; 

(c)  the  rain,  e.g.,  whether  light  showers,  steady  rain,  or  very 
heavy  downpour  ;    (d)   the  temperature,  e.g.,  whether  very 


2o6  EDUCATION   BY   LIFE 

cold,  cold,  cool,  warm,  hot,  or  very  hot ;  {e)  the  wind,  e.g., 
whether  calm,  light  wind,  breeze,  strong  wind,  storm.  The 
direction  of  the  wind  might  be  observed  at  a  rather  later  stage, 
when  the  points  of  the  compass  have  been  learnt. 

These  observations  should  be  made  regularly,  at  the  same 
hour  each  day,  and  recorded  in  some  definite  form  ;  they  may 
be  better  realized  by  means  of  simple  drawings  with  the  pencil, 
or  preferably  the  brush,  representing  either  directly  or  sym- 
bolically the  weather  conditions.  Causes  cannot  be  con- 
sidered in  the  earliest  stages,  but  from  the  very  beginning, 
wherever  opportunity  offers,  the  teacher  might  point  out  how 
certain  conditions  occur  along  with  others.  Thus  it  might 
be  noticed  that  a  clear  sky  in  winter  time  is  accompanied  by 
cold  weather,  but  in  summer  time  by  hot  weather ;  in  this 
way  the  ground  is  prepared  for  the  later  teaching  on  radiation 
of  heat  to  and  from  the  earth's  surface.  Similarly,  the  direc- 
tion of  the  wind  may  be  discovered  to  be  connected  with 
temperature  and  with  rainfall.  The  records  themselves,  if 
kept  continuously,  will  afford  material  for  the  later  study  of 
causes  and  effects.  It  is  not  perhaps  necessary  for  each  child 
to  make  the  record  each  day ;  to  save  time  this  can  be  done 
by  the  children  in  turn,  though  some  observations  must  be 
made  by  all. 

Early  in  school  life  the  movements  of  the  sun  during  the 
day  should  be  noted.  The  children  should  observe  that  it 
is  always  in  the  same  part  of  the  sky  at  midday  ;  this  direction 
should  be  named  the  south.  The  points  of  the  compass  become 
most  real  to  the  children  if  they  are  learnt  through  something 
very  real  and  personal,  e.g.,  English  children  might  associate 
the  south  with  the  sun's  home  (especially  in  winter),  the  east 
where  he  rises,  and  the  west  where  he  disappears  at  bedtime  ; 
the  north  might  be  the  home  of  the  white  bear  or  any  other 
Arctic  phenomena  they  know.  Or  directions  might  be  rela- 
tive to  the  sea,  and  be  emphasized  by  reference  to  the  sur- 
rounding objects,  as  north,  south,  east  or  west  of  the  school 
or  even  schoolroom  ;  such  as  the  sides  of  the  room,  the  other 
rooms  of  the  school,  the  neighbouring  roads  and  buildings. 
Some  might  indeed  be  re-named  for  the  time  being,  as  the  West 
Street,  the  East  Station,  the  North  School,  especially  if  the 
children  are  making  a  model.  Then  after  sufficient  observa- 
tions the  children  will  find  that  the  apparent  movement  of 
the  sun  from  above  one  building  to  above  another  is  from  east 
to  south  before  noon,  and  from  south  to  west  after  noon. 


THE  BASIS  OF    GEOGRAPHY  TEACHING        207 

From  such  a  story  as  that  of  Columbus,  or  from  an  imaginary 
one,  they  could  well  imagine  the  difficulty  of  a  ship  at  sea  that 
had  entirely  lost  its  bearings,  and  then  one  might  examine 
a  mariner's  compass  and  find  that  it  always  pointed  in  an 
approximately  north-south  direction  ;  they  would  then  real- 
ize what  it  meant  to  both  seamen  and  discoverers. 

An  essential  part  of  this  general  aspect  consists  of  some 
experiments  and  observations  connected  with  the  circulation 
of  water  as  evaporated  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  or  the 
sea  into  the  sky  ;  the  formation  of  clouds,  falling  of  rain, 
running  over  or  through  the  ground  into  streams,  and  finally 
reaching  the  sea  unless  evaporated  on  the  journey.  These 
lessons  must  be  largely  supplemented  by  description 
where  observation  or  experiment  is  impossible.  Even  in  a 
town  the  roads,  with  their  drying  puddles  and  their  gutters 
and  drains,  give  opportunity  for  some  direct  work  of  this 
kind  ;  a  model  of  a  river  system,  with  water  sprinkled  from 
a  hose  and  flowing  into  a  "  sea,"  might,  along  with  pictures, 
greatly  help  the  children  to  understand  this  part  of  the  sub- 
ject. Some  of  the  above  work  of  the  geography  lesson  grows 
naturally  out  of  the  nature  work,  especially  out  of  the  nature 
calendar  ;  for  the  two  so-called  subjects  are  in  reality  part 
of  the  same  side  of  life,  and  some  portion  of  the  elementary 
study  of  plant  and  animal  life  which  is  dealt  with  in  the  section 
on  Nature  Study  affords  the  necessary  ground  work  for 
"  plant  geography  "  and  "  animal  geography  "  of  later  years. 

(2)  The  consideration  of  the  life  immediately  around  the 
children,  or  in  other  parts  of  their  own  country,  may  be  going 
on  co-incidently  with  what  has  been  just  considered.  The 
work  and  lives  of  people  engaged  in  certain  occupations  should 
form  an  important  part  of  the  syllabus,  beginning  with  those 
immediately  connected  with  or  well  known  to  the  children, 
and  going  on  to  those  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  The 
essential  facts  as  to  the  work  of  farmers  may  be  famihar  to 
country  children,  but  town  children  will  have  to  realize  them 
by  means  of  pictures  and  descriptions  and  through  their 
gardening.  Some  knowledge  derived  from  holidays  should 
be  utihzed.  It  will  help  them  later  to  realize  larger  truths, 
if  they  understand  such  simple  connexions  as  that  ripen- 
ing corn  needs  sunshine  rather  than  rain,  and  that  cattle  are 
largely  pastured  on  the  long  grasses  of  riverside  meadows. 

Fishing  is  another  occupation  that  should  be  dealt  with; 
and  in  this  connexion  the  actual  work  in  relation  to  land 


2o8  EDUCATION  BY    LIFE 

configuration  should  be  considered,  e.g.,  fishing  on  the  shallows 
called  "  banks,"  safe  harbourage  of  bays,  the  work  of  cleaning 
and  preserving  fish,  should  be  introduced.  Similarly  the  work 
of  miners,  of  quarrymen,  the  melting  of  iron  ore  and  making 
of  iron  goods,  the  making  of  cotton  and  woollen  goods  (the 
latter  in  relation  to  the  children's  own  experiments  in  weav- 
ing), pottery,  forestry,  might  all  be  taken  simply,  and  in  rela- 
tion to  the  part  of  the  country  where  they  are  carried  on,  with 
only  the  slightest  reference  to  causation,  perhaps  sufficient 
to  make  the  children  understand  that  their  existence  in  that 
particular  locality  is  not  just  haphazard.  The  transport  of 
these  goods  wiU  give  opportunities  for  hnking  the  various 
centres  together,  and  from  ideas  of  the  time  taken  in  travel- 
hng  and  transport  the  ideas  of  distance  may  be  introduced  ; 
difficulties  such  as  mountains  and  wide  rivers,  the  part 
played  by  capes  and  lighthouses,  the  advantages  of  estuaries 
and  harbours,  and  their  improvement  by  the  construction 
of  docks,  can  come  quite  naturally  in  this  way. 

It  will  be  noted  that  certain  geographical  forms,  e.g., 
mountains,  capes  and  bays,  are  introduced  in  connexion  with 
their  natural  relation  to  man  and  not  as  definitions.  Similarly 
lessons  on  industries,  and  such  things  as  a  lighthouse  or  a 
mill,  were  formerly  introduced  to  children  as  object  lessons 
in  an  isolated  way.  Their  true  place  is  surely  in  connexion 
with  either  geography  or  history,  i.e.,  their  relation  to 
human  life. 

Pictures  and  models  are  absolutely  necessary  in  this  con- 
nexion, but  the  need  for  maps  has  not  yet  come,  nor  would 
they  be  helpful  at  this  stage.  To  a  certain  extent  the  children 
are  prepared  for  them  by  their  drawing  of  the  plans  of  furni- 
ture and  of  doll's  houses  and  gardens,  previous  to  constructing 
them  ;  often  a  vihage  has  been  constructed  by  a  class,  and 
this  presupposes  some  idea  of  a  plan,  but  the  application  to 
maps  is  later.  One  can  reaUze  how  the  imagination  of  the 
country  children  as  to  the  country  beyond  their  horizon  is 
helped  by  this  side  of  the  work,  and  how  that  of  the  town 
child  plays  around  the  goods  that  come  and  go  from  his 
neighbourhood,  or  dock,  or  station.  A  luggage  train  may 
become  an  object  of  mystery  and  romance. 

(3)  The  remaining  portion  of  this  preparatory  geography 
deals  with  other  lands.  By  the  means  we  have  already  de- 
scribed, the  children's  interest  has  been  aroused  in  the  various 
peoples  of  the  world  and  their  ways  of  living,  but  in  all  cases 


THE  BASIS   OF    GEOGRAPHY  TEACHING    209 

the  life  of  a  community  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  shown 
to  be  dependent  on  the  physical  conditions  of  the  land  it 
inhabits. 

It  will  be  convenient  for  the  teacher  to  make  physiographi- 
cal  conditions  the  basis  of  selection,  both  in  regard  to  the  types 
of  people  considered  and  to  their  pecuhar  characteristics  ; 
but  to  the  children,  the  people  themselves  must  be  put  in  the 
foreground.  Thus  a  series  could  be  so  selected  that  each  type 
inhabited  some  region  of  marked  physical  conditions.  The 
following  are  suggested  :  {a)  the  agricultural  people  of  India, 
a  hot  region,  but  neither  very  wet  nor  very  dry  ;  {b)  the  Eski- 
mo of  the  far  North,  exemplifying  life  in  a  very  cold  region ; 
(c)  the  Arabs  of  the  Sahara  for  life  in  a  dry  region  ;  {d)  the 
Indians  of  the  Amazon  valley  for  life  in  a  wet  region  ;  {e)  the 
Swiss  as  mountain  dwellers  ;  (/)  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  a 
very  flat  country  ;  (g)  the  nomadic  pastoral  peoples  of  the 
temperate  grasslands  of  Central  Asia  ;  {h)  the  dwellers  in  the 
temperate  forests  of  more  northern  latitudes — hunters  and 
lumbermen. 

In  preparing  such  lessons  the  teacher  should  set  out  for  her 
own  edification  the  essential  features  of  each  region,  and  side 
by  side  with  these  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people  which 
have  been  evolved  as  a  response  to  these  physical  conditions, 
and  thus  place,  in  her  own  mind,  the  human  beings  in  close 
relation  to  the  physical  conditions  which  affect  them.  By 
this  means  the  frequent  mistake  may  be  avoided  of  telling 
the  story  of  the  people  in  such  a  way  that,  although  interest 
may  be  aroused,  the  story  could  have  almost  any  geographical 
setting,  and  consequently  couKl  have  very  little  geographical 
value.  For  example,  the  picturesque  national  costume  of 
the  Swiss  and  Dutch  is  largely  irrelevant,  but  the  dress  of  the 
Eskimo  and  the  processes  and  implements  involved  in  its 
making  are  worth  special  study,  as  closely  related  to  both  the 
climate  and  the  animal  life  of  the  region. 

To  a  considerable  extent  child  hfe  rather  than  the  life  of 
adults  may  be  described,  and  stories  and  pictures  should 
here  again  be  the  chief  means  of  instruction.  In  regard  to 
pictures,  experience  shows  that  the  work  of  the  teacher  is  to 
direct  the  attention  of  the  children  to  the  desired  matters,  and 
this  may  best  be  done  by  questions  or  even  by  direct  remarks. 
If  the  children  are  not  so  guided  they  will  probably  take  notice 
of  unimportant  matters  and  pass  without  notice  essential 
features.    The  teacher  should  also  see  that  the  picture  is 

P 


210  EDUCATION  BY   LIFE 

rightly  interpreted  ;  the  present  writer  taught  a  class  in  which 
no  child  recognized  snow  as  the  white  covering  of  the  moun- 
tains, while  several  children  thought  it  represented  salt  or 
sugar.  Also  the  teacher  may  help  the  children  to  deduce 
more  than  the  picture  actually  shows,  as,  for  example,  tem- 
perature from  the  vegetation,  or  the  liabiUty  of  floods  from 
the  fact  that  the  houses  are  built  on  piles.  Such  help,  how- 
ever, must  be  given  very  carefully,  or  the  children  will  deduce 
from  the  teacher's  unintentional  suggestion  instead  of  from 
the  picture.  To  examine  carefully  a  few  well  selected  pic- 
tures is  of  infinitely  more  value  than  merely  to  exhibit  a 
large  number. 

The  use  of  models  in  teaching  the  geography  of  other  lands 
is  a  debatable  question.  The  values  attaching  to  models  made 
by  the  teacher  are  quite  different  and  need  separate  con- 
sideration from  the  values  attaching  to  those  made  by  the 
children.  The  former  may  be  useful  as  giving  new  ideas,  and 
to  that  extent  must  be  accurate  ;  this  is  possible  with  simple 
scenes  which  can  be  readily  simulated,  as  the  snow  field  with 
Eskimo  hut,  sledge,  people  and  dogs.  For  these  things 
suitable  materials  are  easily  obtained,  and  no  great  misconcep- 
tions are  caused  ;  but  to  represent  an  Alpine  valley  with  its 
varied  features,  natural  and  artificial,  is  impossible  without  giv- 
ing many  and  seriously  wrong  impressions.  Thus,  although  clay 
can  be  moulded  into  the  required  shape,  the  essential  hardness 
of  the  rock  is  lacl^ing ;  scale  presents  another  difficulty — the 
figures  and  houses  cannot  be  introduced,  if  the  mountains  are 
adequately  represented.  The  solution  probably  lies  in  making 
models  of  separate  parts  of  such  a  complicated  scene.  Models 
made  by  the  children  need  not  be  so  carefully  scrutinized  as 
to  their  realism ;  their  value  largely  consists  in  helping  to  fix 
the  ideas  the  children  have  already  received,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose special  points  maybe  isolated,  e.g.,  the  shape  of  the  valley 
may  be  moulded  in  clay  if  the  children  have  previously  learnt 
that  the  mountains  enclosing  it  are  of  hard  rock.  The  shape 
only  is  considered,  and  even  in  this  crudities  may  be  passed 
over  if  more  accurate  models  or  pictures  are  before  the  class. 

Maps  are  inappropriate  to  this  work  ;  they  need  not  be 
introduced  until  definite  regions  are  studied  in  later  years. 

Finally,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  it  is  both  unnecessary 
and  undesirable  to  deal  with  the  shape  or  movements  of  the 
earth.  These  matters  cannot  possibly  be  taught  or  understood 
^t  this  sta^e  ;  all  that  coulcj  be  done  would  be  to  have  phrases 


THE  BASIS  OF  GEOGRAPHY  TEACHING      211 

learnt  and  repeated,  for  it  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  children 
to  realize  that  this  world,  parts  of  which  they  know  and  upon 
which  they  live,  is  really  like  a  ball,  and  still  less  can  they  have 
any  real  idea  of  its  movements  ;  one  of  the  worst  features  of 
the  old  compulsory  code  for  elementary  schools  was  its  in- 
clusion of  the  "  shape  and  movements  of  the  earth  "  in  the 
first  stages  of  instruction. 

J.  F.  Unstead. 


BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE 

For  a  study  of  Physical  Geography,  the  following  books  may  be 
recommended  :  Huxley  and  Gregory ,  Physiography  (Macmillan,  4s.  6d.) 
Mill,  Realm  of  Nature  (Murray,  5s.).  Dryer,  Physical  Geography 
(Philip,  6s.).  An  excellent  introduction  to  the  relations  between  physi- 
cal conditions  and  human  life  is  given  in  Herbertson's  Man  and  His 
Work  (Black,  is.  6d.).  A  text  book  for  teachers,  which  covers  broadly 
the  whole  ground,  is  Unstead  and  Taylor,  General  and  Regional  Geography 
(Philip,  6s.),  and  an  elementary  book  with  the  same  wide  scope  and 
by  the  same  authors  is  Essentials  of  World  Geography  (Philip). 

Descriptive  material  for  the  lessons  on  foreign  peoples  and  lands  is 
given  in  the  Little  Cousin  Series,  e.g..  The  Little  Eskimo  (Ward,  Lock 
&  Co.,  IS.  6i.  each),  and  in  the  "  Peeps  at  Many  Lands  "  Series 
(Black,  IS.  6rf.  net  each).     Jane  Andrew's  Seven  Little  Sisters. 


George   Philip  &  Son,   Ltd.,   Printers,   London. 


STATE  NORr^lAL  SCHOOL 


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